hackEVA: Catharsis
by AlfheimWanderer
Summary: Imagine yourself in a world where the unbelievable is merely routine, a world of endless illusions and webs of intrigue. For most, it would be a nightmare, inescapable. But what happens when one is given a chance to escape that ludicrous world? AU
1. Login 01: Welcome to The World

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

A crossover between the worlds of .hack and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Set in early 2015, shortly after the defeat of the fourth angel. CC Corporation, creator of the ALTIMIT OS and the internationally popular MMORPG "The World" has recently recovered from a disastrous fire at their headquarters in Osaka-2, which destroyed most of their game data. Newly released is The World: R2, and to ensure that it becomes popular, several thousand individuals around the world were selected as part of the Renaissance Project, the first wave of new players.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes written word

Caps denotes skill use

* * *

**'Shinji's Lovely Suite', Misato's Apartment, Tokyo-3 **

A troubled youth lay upon his futon little more than an hour or so till dawn, still clad in his school uniform and clutching his SDAT player close to his chest as he waited for a sleep that would not come. Though perhaps it would be closer to the truth to say that he was curled up into the fetal position and shaking, for his mind boiled with thoughts of war and strife, as images from his past insistently replayed themselves for his viewing pleasure.

_'His father abandoning him when he was three. The note of a few weeks ago, summoning him with a single word: **'Come'**. The sight of Unit 01, the hideous horned monstrosity that he was forced to pilot, on pain of watching Ayanami die. The pain of synching and combat, of a spear of light being rammed into his eye and fire searing every bit of his flesh in phantom pain._

_Suzahara' fist striking him, though his words hurt even more. Hammer blows of guilt upon his heavy conscience, knowing he had badly injured a little girl. Almost crushing Suzahara and Aida by accident, getting them involved in a battle that wasn't theirs. The fourth angel's energy whips piercing his abdomen, as he pierced its core in a dance macabre. The sting of Misato's slapping him, over and over again, as everything faded into darkness.'_

A moment later, Shinji bolted upright, a white-hot pain exploding in his head as he did so. Apparently, from the evidence of his dreams, he had not yet recovered from the past few days, to say nothing of the past few years.

He found himself whimpering, his breath coming in quick, shallow gasps as he fought for a small measure of control. Apparently, his body was still convinced that it had been mortally wounded, and his mind had not yet found the nerve to tell it otherwise. But then, he'd never had much of a backbone. If he had, he wouldn't be Shinji, would he?

"I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away," he whispered hoarsely to himself, though he wasn't entirely sure if he was trying to be ironic or not. The few times that he hadn't run away, people had ended up getting hurt, so why shouldn't he leave? Nothing he did was ever good enough, not when he followed orders, not when he didn't. And what was he? A coward, just a coward that NERV needed to pilot their giant purple people eater. Nothing more.

Even Misato, who he thought cared about him, was just another of those who was using him for her own purposes. He had seen the journal, the supposed 'log' of his activities, and he guessed it was because of that that she had asked him to move in with her. Easier to monitor what he did, he supposed.

"Easier to keep track of and watch over," he mused, with a brittle smile. He knew what it meant to be used. After all, it was the story of his life, right? And like any story, once it begun, it would draw to its inevitable tragic conclusion, leading him alone and unwanted, or worse, dead.

Sure he could put on a false front and pretend to be brave, but maybe it would be better if he ran away.

_'That way at least I won't have to pilot anymore. No more EVA, no more pain…no more Father. I'll do it…I'll run away, at least for a while. I need time to think.'_

His mind made up, his features set themselves into a determined expression, and he swung out over the floor, touching the floor gingerly so as to test his strength before applying more weight to his unsure legs. Once his feet were firmly planted on the ground, he stood, almost immediately wincing afterward. Regardless of the fact that it was his EVA that had been injured, not he himself, the pain refused to go away, and it seemed like every step was going to be another agonizing adventure in this ludicrous world.

His eyes clamped themselves tightly shut, and an unwitting cry escaped his throat as he fought the beast within him for control. There was, as he often thought, a self that others saw, and a self that perceived the self, but the self within the self could be far more animalistic than he had ever imagined. He knew that to be true after Unit 01 went berserk while fighting Sachiel, and knew too, that that part of him that was like an animal would only lead to him hurting others…and probably himself as well. So he fought himself, trying to push back the powerful instinct for self-preservation and simply run instead of endure more to push him over the edge.

It was what he was used to, after all. Running from his problems, escaping, whether physically or through the music in his SDAT, being a coward. It was a wonder that his unit hadn't been yellow, though the LCL was certainly colored appropriately to hide any…involuntary reactions due to fear. Despite the agony from moving, he couldn't quite suppress a chuckle at the thought of that as a possible reason for why.

'_It's my father's design; I wouldn't be surprised. I'm not the only one who hides from life; he does it too, just on a bigger scale. Maybe he's even more sad and wounded than I am. No, that can't be…I'm sure he has a purpose for what he does.'_

As his thoughts turned to his father, it was as if someone had spilled a tank of liquid helium in the room, for the temperature seemed to drop precipitously, enough to allow the agony that burned in him to subside to bearable levels.

Once he was sure he could control himself, Shinji opened his eyes and slowly walked over to the door to his room. He opened it, looking around to see if anyone was awake, but as expected, saw no one. Some 'home' this had turned out to be. Misato was either working late, or had collapsed from drunken revelry, as usual, and it was obvious that she had abandoned any pretense about caring for him (and who could care for such a weak person anyway?), so he should go, as not to trouble her any longer.

With a sigh and another of his brittle half-smiles, the young man took a step forward—and found himself flying through the air until he met an old friend: the ground. Luck really wasn't on his side today, was it? Not only had he been reprimanded after winning his battle against the Fourth Angel and slapped, but now he had…tripped…over a box.

'_Wait—there wasn't a box there when I went into my room. I wonder who its from and who its for. It couldn't be for me…no one would send me mail.'_

He didn't think it could be him, but as he was rising unsteadily to his feet again, Shinji's curiosity got the better of him and he instead found himself crouching over the box, his eyes flitting over it for a better look.

It was an ordinary cardboard box, plain and brown without any special markings.

'_No hints and no packing label. Maybe its something Misato left out.'_

He thought better of it though, since he had never seen that box laying around. Besides, he realized in a moment of sheer denseness, this one was sitting upside-down, and seeing as he didn't have x-ray vision or superpowers like some people in animes, it might be just a tad difficult to read the shipping label, if one existed at all.

Warily, Shinji flipped over the box, raising an eyebrow to see that it was indeed addressed to him. But it wasn't from anyone he knew…it wasn't even from NERV or from school. Instead, it was from the company called CC Corp, which had briefly become famous for creating the unhackable ALTIMIT OS, which almost every computer in the world used today, as well as the game called "The World."

Fully interactive, with a full-featured sensory interface and realistic experiences, it had been something that his teacher had talked about once as eating up a person's time. The teacher had called it a waste, shaking his head in despair and frustration that people would rather live out a virtual life than one in the real world.

But at the moment, a virtual world sounded better than the life he was living now, and he was curious to see what could be in the box.

'_If it's a bomb, at least I'll be dead. If its money, I can take it with me when I go. If its something else...maybe it will be a reason to stay.'_

He dragged the package back into his room and quickly tore into the box, ripping off the packing label and top of the box with ferocity not unlike EVA 01 ripping into Sachiel. Inside, he found a laptop, a rather expensive-looking headset and controller, an instruction manual of some sort, a box with a game in it, a strange looking plushy of what appeared to be a cow-snouted pig, and sitting above all of it, a letter.

With shaking hands, he reached for the letter, holding it up so that an errant ray or two of the light beginning to filter in through his bedroom window would illuminate the text. Upon it was written the following.

'**Dear Mr. Ikari,**

**Congratulations. As part of the Renaissance Promotion, you have been chosen as one of the lucky few to receive a laptop preloaded with the new ALTIMIT MINE OS, as well as a one-year subscription to The World: R2, the most popular MMORPG on earth. Please reference the game manual for details, and if you have any questions, please contact us online.**

**Thank you for your continued interest and support of CC Corporation, and we hope you enjoy your journey of discovery. May we be the first to say:**

"**Welcome to the World."**

**Sincerely,**

**Takumi Hino**

**System Administrator, The World: R2'**

Rather stunned, Shinji unceremoniously dropped the letter back into the box, collapsing to the floor once again as he tried to think what this could possibly mean.

'_I was…chosen for something? Could it be that I'm actually worth something, that someone doesn't want me to run away? What is The World? Maybe I should try it…it can't be worse than Misato's cooking. '_

At that cheery thought, a thin sliver of a smile flickered upon his lips. True, it wasn't for long, but it was just long enough to get his ever-present mantra going again, like an insistently addictive riff on a bass guitar. And Newton's First Law of Motion applied even to cowards: 'Things in motion tend to remain in motion, Things at rest tend to remain at rest.'

His mental pleas for no more pain having lost the initiative to a box and curiosity, he wouldn't be running away from home. Not physically at least, for why do that and experience more of the same misery and skullduggery he had experienced ever since his Father had abandoned him. No. He wouldn't run this time, except perhaps into a place where his foes could not reach him, a brand new life atop the old.

Maybe it was for the best, maybe it wasn't, but this time, it would be **his** choice. Not his father's, not Misato's, not anyone else's. His.

Turning to the box again, he retrieved the manual and began to thumb through it, pursing his lips in thought as he perused the elegantly crafted backstory of the game. It was set in a world where humans had warred against the gods, where a great Shadow had come over the land, a world that had been devastated by an attempt to destroy the gods and set up humanity as the masters of the earth. In short, it was a world much like his own.

In the early morning light, Shinji's eyes seemed to gleam with the shards of barely perceived possibilities, and anyone looking at him might have thought him possessed, for he was not the same as he had been last night. He had been given something precious, and yet that which the Greeks had once called the worst of all evils: Hope.

Pulling the laptop, headset and controller out of the box, he put them onto his desk, flipped open and powered on the computer before plopping into his chair, sinking into whatever meager comfort its austere frame could provide. To his amazement, it was only a matter of seconds before it was amazed at how quickly it booted. _And with a completely different OS than anything I've ever seen before. There's even an ethereal melody that seems to play as I browse the system._

There were few icons on the desktop, as it was a new system, but at the moment, that didn't matter too much. His attention was drawn to the small icon in the upper right corner: '**The World: R2**'

Taking a deep breath, he selected it and waited for the game to load. The hard drive spun and whirred, and the opening splash of the game popped up on screen, quickly finishing its loading sequence to reveal the title screen.

'**Create a Character'**, he selected, and the program obediently took him to its character class selection screen. It was the moment of truth, where Shinji would have to decide what his role would be in this online world. A Healer, a warlock, or a more physical attacker? One who relied on power, speed or magic?

On one hand, he wanted to be powerful enough so that no one would be able to hurt him, so maybe a Steam Gunner, allowing him to attack from range? Or an Edge Punisher, whose massive sword could rend any opponent who came too close? On the other hand, running away from battle never hurt either, and a decent dose of speed was always helpful. Maybe Tribal Grappler, then, with its extreme attack speed and enough HP to survive most encounters? Or perhaps Twin Blade, with its easy to combo weapons and agility?

But those were too far to the extremes, and he had never been good with choosing. Would a Blade Brandier be a better choice? It was average on almost all counts, except for much better speed than most classes. A Flick Reaper? Too vulnerable to attacks from range, even if it was good for attacking a number of foes. And Lord Partizans were out. He didn't want to be slower than an EVA with no synch if push came to shove.

Maybe it would be best to try something completely different. There were the three tempting magic classes: Shadow Warlock, Harvest Cleric, and Macabre Dancer. But which one? Feared Sorcerer, Respected Healer, or Mysterious Spell Shaman?

Suffice it to say that decisiveness was not Shinji's strong suit, not with so many choices available to him. This wasn't exactly one of the one-option scenarios that he was routinely found himself in, after all.

And so he sat there, in front of the computer screen, paralyzed with doubt. He would move the cursor over an option, and then reconsidering, over another. Which one to choose? He could only choose one…right? So why did he have the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something?

A few seconds later, he wanted to smack himself for being an idiot. It dawned on him that there was one class that he was overlooking: Adept Rogue. Unlike the other classes, it didn't specialize in a single weapon or form of combat. It could allow him to choose up to two or three classes, with the exception of a few that were restricted. Sure, he would start the game with the first of them and have to unlock the others, but it didn't seem too bad. Then, too, his stats would be nicely balanced, meaning that while he wouldn't have bone-crushing power, at least he would still be able to run (and at about this point, his 'mustn't run away' mantra kicked in again).

So he made a decision, finally. Choosing to become an Adept Rogue, he vacillated between the combinations of Twin Blade and Steam Gunner, or Blade Brandier and Macabre Dancer?

It was then that an insidious little voice began to whisper at him from the recesses of his memory: _'Center the target, pull the switch. Center the target, pull the switch. Center the—'_

He shook his head and blindly stabbed at the keyboard, selecting option 1, remarkably similar to the weapons he learned to use in EVA. And even that minor connection was a bit unnerving,

The game moved to the next screen and awaited his choice of appearance, as this version was fully customizable.

'_I'll make this one different from what I look like in real life, that's for sure.'_

Among the choices for his character were options for long silver-blue hair, crimson eyes, pale skin, slim body form, and charcoal-gray robes with a shimmering water elemental symbol on them over a coat of dark chain mail. Those were the ones he selected, and he blinked in surprise to see just how closely it resembled Ayanami. But then, he had wanted to look different, and if anyone looked different from how he was in real life, it was her, the quiet, mysterious, undeniably beau—

Shinji quickly cut off that train of thought before it could derail or cause a nosebleed. Now the game prompted him for a name, but his creativity had given out after his intense use of focus to choose the other details of his character.

'_I never thought it would be this difficult to create an identity for myself. But I guess I'll call myself…_

'**_Skari.'_**_'_

That completed, the computer beeped, informing him that his account was ready.

'_This is it. No turning back. I mustn't run away…'_

Picking up the headset and controller from the desk, he plugged them into the computer, placing the headset over his head. Surprisingly, he felt a moment of feedback not unlike what he knew in EVA, and he wondered what other revelations would come to him in this brave new world, and from the people in it. He clicked '**Log in**', and synched to his game character, as the room around him faded away to reveal a strange new city of stone and iron, already bustling though it had been around for only a few hours.

Daybreak had come, and the light of the sun over Mac Anu danced upon the waters and the cobblestones of the streets.

Looking around, Shinji found himself repeating the last line of the letter that he had received from CC Corporation.

'_**Welcome to the World.'**_


	2. Login 02: Unexpected Encounters

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

A crossover between the worlds of .hack and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Set in early 2015, shortly after the defeat of the fourth angel. CC Corporation, creator of the ALTIMIT OS and the internationally popular MMORPG "The World" has recently recovered from a disastrous fire at their headquarters in Osaka-2, which destroyed most of their game data. Newly released is The World: R2, and to ensure that it becomes popular, several thousand individuals around the world were selected as part of the Renaissance Project, the first wave of new players.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes written word

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Δ Server Eternal City Mac Anu**

It was early morning in the Eternal City Mac Anu, and the Adept Rogue known as **Skari **found himself wandering around almost in a daze. Thanks to the new sensory interface and special controller pack, he found it fairly easy to walk, almost as easy (or maybe it was easier, after all, he hadn't tripped and fallen like he had in battle against Sachiel) as piloting the EVA.

Yet, unlike piloting the EVA, he found that he didn't hate this world of illusion and shadows, where perhaps he had a chance to fit in. No one knew who he was here, and everyone on today had just started not too long ago, so everyone would be at the same level. Still, he thought he could almost feel people looking at him and murmuring among themselves. He wondered why for a bit before remembering: In patterning his character design off of Ayanami, he looked markedly different from many of the more musclebound hulks or scantily clad females.

Secretly, he was glad that the game wouldn't allow you to have a nosebleed, or a geyser might have erupted, staining his robes beyond repair (just as well…there was no way of doing laundry either). But there was a second reason too: Adept Rogue was an uncommon character class, with most having chosen a single other job class so they could specialize in it, and so his choice inspired more than a little curiosity.

For a moment, he felt embarrassed, knowing that because of his choice, he would be weaker than those around him for a while.

'_I can't let them know that or I'll just get thrown away. I have to become stronger. As tempting as it is to see this as reality, there's only one thing real about this world and that is the player. So I can't run away…that's not how the game is played. And where would I run? Do I really want to return to that ludicrous world without changing anything about myself?'_

His hands drifted down to his sides and his crimson eyes widened to discover a pair of serrated daggers, the Spin Gai Gu. Fingering the blades out of an almost morbid curiosity, he was saved from critically wounding himself by the fact that weapons could not be used in a Root Town.

'_I guess it just keeps fights from breaking out so that there is a safe haven around here. It…gives people a chance to learn what to do before they are forced into difficult situation. I kind of like it already.'_

On Skari's face was a faraway smile, his mind elsewhere, lost in thought. So much so, in fact, that he didn't notice how close he was meandering towards the river's edge…or that there was someone standing there, watching the flow of the current. At least, up to the point when he tripped and fell, knocking a newly irate Edge Punisher into the water with a rather loud splash. It was silent for a moment, until a head covered with fiery red hair broke the surface and gasped for enough air to curse:

"ANTA BAKA? WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DUMBKOPF!"

He wanted to apologize, he really did, but almost immediately after the ear-splitting shout, a hand snaked out from the water and pulled him in.

—Splash!—

As soon as Skari hit the water, he knew that he was in trouble. He'd never learned to swim in real life, and he doubted that his character would be able to swim in the game. And the flowing robes (which ironically enough had the shimmering sigil of the element of water woven into them) weren't helping either, quickly becoming soaked and heavy, making movement sluggish.

'_Its realistic. Too realistic…what if my character dies here?'_

Not wanting to meet a grisly end only about fifteen minutes into the game, he flailed his arms about, seizing hold of the nearest firm object. Maybe that turned out to be a bad move, as the girl he had accidentally pushed into the river was attempting to climb out and he only ended up pulling her back in.

If looks could kill, Skari would already be reduced to a pile of ashes, but even in The World, they weren't that powerful—yet. Still struggling, he felt someone grab his arm and jerk him around, hissing out: "Stop struggling, baka, or I'll just let you drown!"

Reacting to the venom in that voice, he went limp and simply allowed himself to be dragged to the shore with very little resistance.

He dared to look up for a moment at the one who had been both tormentor and savior to him. The first word that came mind to describe her was tall. She stood about 5'8", with fiery red hair in a ponytail falling to the small of her back and piercing blue eyes, scantily clad in black leather armor that barely covered the essentials. She had the sigil of fire on her armor and—

"Hey, baka!"

His expression was vacant for a moment, though he quickly turned his eyes to her face, though he found it hard not to flinch at the tone she was using.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you. Don't you know its impolite to stare? This world has rules too, you know! For someone who looks like an overdressed monk, you're sure a pervert!"

Skari blushed and looked down…he had just been trying to study her character design. He was new to games like this, and he didn't know that he could offend someone so easily. Only one thing to do, he supposed…apologize.

"S-s-sorry."

"I don't want to hear it. There's nothing you can say or do to…"

The redhead trailed off and looked at him intensely, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes. Though looks should have no power in a game, Skari felt uncomfortable under that gaze and fought the urge to squirm. He wanted to move, but those eyes transfixed him, pierced him where he lay. He was just getting to be extremely unnerved when the girl spoke.

"Actually there is something you can do for me," said the redhead suddenly with a seemingly sincere smile, though the glint in her eyes said otherwise. "I've been needing someone to come with me to a field to help me level up. You'll do nicely…don't say anything, just nod, ok?"

Unable to do anything else, Skari nodded, relaxing at the sight of the smile. It wasn't an evil smile or a smirk like what his father could do, so he felt a bit relieved.

'_Go with her to help her level up? I guess I could do that.'_

Seeing the nod, the girl began walking abruptly brushing past him and headed back to the Chaos Gate, not even glancing back to see if Skari would follow. Curious about where she wanted to take him, Skari got to his feet and stumbled after her, brushing through the crowd and bumping into a few more people in his haste to get to the Gate. Neither noticed the Shadow Warlock or the Tribal Grappler watching from the distance, a pair which glanced at each other and began walking slowly to the Gate as well.

Unsurprisingly, the redheaded girl got there first and turned, putting her hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently as she waited. An out of breath Skari arrived shortly afterward, but was unable to get a word in as the girl snapped out "**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground**" and vanished in a flurry of golden light.

Shrugging his shoulders, he did the same a moment later and disappeared.

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground**

Skari appeared in a cascade of light, and when he opened his eyes, he saw before him a cathedral, illuminated by sunlight. His jaw dropped open at the sight of this, as it was one of the most beautiful places he'd ever seen, though he quickly closed it once again when he heard gentle laughter drifting towards him from behind.

Turning, he saw the female Edge Punisher from earlier. Without ceasing to laugh, she pointed to the doors and gestured for him to enter first, something that the Adept Rogue would have done in any case. He wanted not only to apologize in any way he could to the girl, but to be able to explore this strange new world he found himself in. Thus he opened the doors and walked into the massive structure without a moment's hesitation, going all the way to the bare altar before turning around to see the redhead enter and shut the door behind her.

"I guess you're wondering why I asked you to come here, since you don't see any monsters, right? That's simple…no one to interrupt us in our…training. And since you're deep inside and I'm at the door, there's no running away."

Where her voice had been calm and non-threatening only a few minutes ago, it now held a dangerous hint of malice to it, a sound that made Skari take a step backwards involuntarily.

"Afraid, are you?" she asked, drawing her sword, which began to rev up much like a chainsaw. "Good, you should be. The name is Eris, and I'm a PK."

With an insane grin, the Edge Punisher lifted her weapon above her head and charged towards him, the sword sending sparks everywhere in her mad homicidal dash. Maybe it was appropriate that she was named after the goddess of discord, since she certainly caused enough of it. Step by step, she got closer and closer, her sword about ready to swing and cleave the petrified Adept Rogue apart with a few blows.

This was...unexpected, to say the least, and Skari, who was still not used to fighting, even if in a game, stood paralyzed by the shock of what had happened. His mind had been stunned by the revelation that Eris was but a PK, and that she had just used him so well. The mantra was in full force now ("mustn't run away, mustn't run away, mustn't run away"), and even if there had been anywhere to run, it was doubtful that he could avoid the end forever. In the grip of indecision, maybe he would have continued to stand there and simply take fatal blows, except—well, except that at that moment, an insidious little voice began to whisper at him from the recesses of his memory once again: _'Center the target, pull the switch. Center the target, pull the switch. Center the target, PULL THE SWITCH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!'_

His hands involuntarily twitched down to his daggers and snatched them up as if by instinct, interposing them between him and the whirring blade that came crashing down upon them. Miraculously, he managed to block the blow, and thinking quickly, used the momentum of the charge to spin the irate Edge Punisher around, bringing his other weapon across her gut so that she reeled back, struck.

With a feral war cry, Eris charged forward again, trying to rain a number of heavy blows down upon the impudent Adept Rogue, having activated the skill _"_**_Tiger Blitz"_ **to lend her speed and power. But this time, it was Skari whose face twisted into a fierce snarl as he raced toward his foe with his Twin Blade weapons, their sawlike teeth sounding out a grinding hiss in the quiet of the cathedral.

Slash, slash, clank, slash! And another skill was brought into play, that of **_"Gale Blade."_ **Skari's blades blurred as he struck again and again, managing to use his superior speed and agility to get inside his opponent's reach and land a few blows.

Eris threw back her head and laughed off his attack, though to tell the truth, Skari had managed to do fairly well for his first fight. Unfortunately, Edge Punishers tended to be more heavily armored than Twin Blades, and thus, if Eris could get just one attack in, then—

With one sweeping feint then strike, she managed to break through his defenses, delivering a powerful blow that knocked him backwards into the altar. A wicked grin split her features as she raised her sword…she was going to enjoy striking down this audacious little newbie. She broke into a run, intent on delivering a coup de grace, when she was thrown to the floor, her HP taking a sudden plummet towards the red.

_"_**_Rue Kruz!"_ **was the shout that had rent the air, causing orbs of water to materialize and strike Eris, a shout that had come from a small Shadow Warlock leaning against the door of the Cathedral.

"YOU!" she all but spat, turning to look at her attacker, her eyes widening in disbelief. "I KILLED YOU!"

The Shadow Warlock, dressed like a motley fool and holding a grimoire in hand, only laughed. He quickly took an SP recovery potion, and then turned to taunt the one he had attacked.

"Yeah, you did, but you know…payback's a bitch, eh? _**Rue Kru—**"_

_"**Gale Blade!"**_

While the Shadow Warlock had distracted the Edge Punisher with a rather punishing barrage of water magic, Skari had managed to get up and do one last combo with what remained of his SP, trapping Eris between both of his blades and unleashing barrage damage that struck over and over again. Eris, the once arrogant PK, reeled, hurt and off balance. If she took any more hits, it would be her that lost the day, and…she couldn't have that. It would spoil her will to dominate all others in The World.

"**-z!"**

But…she had no choice but to die, as a last, unavoidable orb of water magic knocked her to the floor again, causing her body to turn gray and vanish.

Skari's interface beeped as an aura of golden light surrounded him for a few seconds. He had ended up killing the vengeful PK out for his blood and had gained from her death by leveling up. Drained now, he sheathed his blades and slumped against the altar. He looked down at his hands, thinking that he had been responsible for taking the life of another...he felt...horrible.

The one who had intervened shook his head and walked over to Skari, placing a hand on his shoulder. Skari flinched at this, as he was not used to contact in any form, and was surprised to hear a sigh from the Shadow Warlock.

"Let it go. Remember...this is all a game. The worst that your opponent will suffer is a loss of whatever experience from the point last saved. So don't take it so hard...the first kill is always the worst anyway. It gets easier, and think about it this way...she attacked you first, right? Take a breath, let it go."

For the first time, Skari's looked upon the one who had saved him, surprised that the character was not even as tall as he was. In fact, his savior was a rather diminutive figure clad in a fool's ensemble, with jester's cap, breeches, and other similar vestments, not the sort to look distinguished or vengeful at all. But then, looks could be quite deceiving as well, as he had not forgotten. At last, he managed to speak, though he couldn't keep a wary tone from his voice:

"Thanks…but, who are you?"

There was a long and pregnant pause for a moment before the Shadow Warlock spoke, a Tribal Grappler coming up behind him.

"Arano's the name, and this here is Aruna. We're both level 5 and lets just say, I owed her for the exact same thing she was about to do to you."

The Shadow Warlock and Tribal Grappler glanced at one another again, nodding. This time, it was the Grappler, the bulky bodybuilder of a man who spoke, with some obvious reluctantance.

"Er…if you want to come along with us and level up a bit, that'd be alright. How about it? Oh yeah, here are our member addresses."

Skari looked suspiciously at the two of them, wondering if they would try to PK him when he least expected it, though the chime of receiving their member addresses assuaged that fear. The Shadow Warlock Arano seemed like he could guess what was going through his mind, and spoke up then.

"Look, if we wanted to PK you, we could have done in both of you at once. Besides, its more fun to focus on monsters. The only real thing about this world is the people in it, the players and how we play the game. So how 'bout it?"

Hesitantly, the Adept Rogue nodded and walked over to them.

"Alright then. I'm Skari. I guess…this is my member address?"

A ping sounded, noting the successful transmission as Arano nodded.

"A pleasure to meet you Skari, now lets get back to Mac Anu to refill our supplies and then we can be off. You have to get stronger to avoid PKers. Now, you first, we'll be right behind you."

'_Here goes' _Skari thought, trying to remember the keywords to return to the root town.

"Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu!"

Golden spirals of light surrounded him and whisked him away to the root town. Moments later, the other two followed suit, leaving **Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground **quiet once more.


	3. Interlude: Queen of the Dark

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

A crossover between the worlds of .hack and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Set in early 2015, shortly after the defeat of the fourth angel. CC Corporation, creator of the ALTIMIT OS and the internationally popular MMORPG "The World" has recently recovered from a disastrous fire at their headquarters in Osaka-2, which destroyed most of their game data. Newly released is The World: R2, and to ensure that it becomes popular, several thousand individuals around the world were selected as part of the Renaissance Project, the first wave of new players.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location or emphasis

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

The Queen of the Dark was having a bad day. No, to be perfectly honest, she had been in at least a mild state of annoyance since the end of last year and the beginning of this entire mess. With the disappearance of Aura, CC Corporation's foolish attempt to recreate her in their own image, the fire that had destroyed 80 of The World's data, and this recent rollover into R2, she was, to put it mildly, displeased. What had the suits in CC Corp been thinking (if those lower level life forms could be said to do so at all), thinking that they could control the power of the Phases? If anything, the phases would find characters that they thought compatible, not the other way around.

Those at CC Corp had never understood that what they thought of as just data was just as alive and intelligent as any human being. Or maybe they did understand, and they were afraid, just as they didn't care for Aura but had grudgingly accepted the Ultimate AI's existence. They had rarely accepted the Queen of the Dark, grudgingly or no, instead seeking to gain access to the Net Slums and delete everything, even all her digital friends.

Now and then, one of their administrators would come to understand the truths behind The World, but the higher-ups never did. Invariably, something would happen: Watari had been blamed for the Twilight Incident and had left The World of his own free will; Lios had been relegated to management duty once again (as much of an ignorant pig-head as he had been, he eventually listened to reason…he had even offered to make the Net Slums an official root town, though she couldn't allow that. CC Corp would only try to clean it up and take control of it, trying to leaving her out of the details entirely); Balmung (and as arrogant and self-righteous as the man had been in the past, she was amused by him) had been fired after helping out another of Aura's chosen ones. The list went on, and remembering this left only a wry expression on the face of the player behind Helba.

And now this foolishness, to try and control the power of a goddess…if she had been around in the last few months, she would have tried to stop it, but other events had precluded her involvement. She wondered idly if anyone had noticed her rather reduced presence online recently, letting a grim little smile crossed her lips for but a moment before reverting to the earnest expression she kept as an ever-present mask.

She thought back to the past, to all those that she had 'known' in her long association with The World: Tsukasa, who had become trapped in the game by Morganna and yet had found the strength to escape to reality, waking Aura in the process; Sora, the enigmatic young (he had only been 10!) man who it amused her to talk to…and whose PC had become a vessel for Skeith, the very model of what CC Corp was trying to recreate; Kite, the brave Bearer of the Bracelet who had fought the Cursed Wave alongside his companions (particularly Blackrose); and the other associated .hackers, all of which had borne the weight of two worlds upon their all too narrow shoulders.

A troubled expression took hold of her then, as an all too familiar notion went through her mind once more:

_Why is it always the young who must fight our battles for us? In The World and even…_

And that brought her back to reality, for there was more to her absence from World Wide Web than one would suspect. No, she had not given up her career as a professional hacker, though she had found herself drawn into an organization that was nearly as secretive as she had been, one that had claimed to value her skills with computers.

But that had been the case for many months, and even years. Still she had found time for those few that she considered her friends online, and for her other job that by necessity needed to be kept secret. Since the events of Deadly Flash and Pluto's Kiss, the World Network Council (WNC) of the United Nations had passed harsh penalties for hacking or endangering computer systems, even up to death, and so she maintained an illusion of innocence in her day job (for another agency of the UN, no less!). At least she was able to work with what might well be the single most advanced computer system on Earth, running on aspects of their creator, but she had never forgotten that there had been another power at the center of Earth's networks until recently.

And insultingly, her boss, her sempai, the one who she respected and had grown fond of over the years, had relegated her to simple tasks that any merely competent programmer could perform. She, the Queen of Dark, a hacker of extraordinary skill, as anyone who knew her work could attest. She had even faced a nearly omnipotent AI and her Phases, being the equivalent power behind the scenes for those who had fought the Wave.

To be sure it was easy enough work, and it presented the challenge of roleplaying someone who was meek, as a mere 1st Lt should be to a Project Director. And she was good at that too, but in a way, that made her resentment chafe at her limitations all the more. There were times when she wished that she could simply reveal the extent of her knowledge of computers to someone offline, but she couldn't, not without risking everything. So she put on another face and tried to look on the bright side, though recently, it was becoming harder again.

She had been assigned to monitor those fighting against…she supposed that one could identify the current fighting as a real life example of the Cursed Wave. And once again, those called to action were mere Children fighting in a war they didn't choose or understand, a conflict that could tear them apart if they didn't support one another.

_Again, why is it always the young who must fight our battles for us? In The World, and now here in the physical world as well?_

That was an odd thing about her. Despite all the hacking that she had done, and the battles in an online world, she detested violence in this world. Why? She couldn't begin to say, though perhaps the fact that what she fought was rarely ever alive, and even if so, never bled or displayed gruesome images upon death. Very much unlike her first experience of battle, monitoring the synch ratio of another child as he went berserk, tearing his foe apart.

Through the malaise brought on by thoughts of war, she couldn't help but smile for a moment, a small thin smile that was real enough for now. How very much like Kite this one was in fighting to protect the ones he cared about, and yet like Tsukasa in wanting to run away. Torn between whether to stay and fight or to flee this ludicrous world. Frankly, she didn't blame him…this world was a terrible place in many ways, which is why Bith the Black did so much of her offline tasks for her. Unbeknownst to 'Bith', he worked alongside the Queen of the Dark, though maybe it wasn't as unknown to him as she may have thought.

_We both have secrets_, she mused, _and yet we find ourselves sharing one very large one just by where we happen to work. _

It had…surprised her to learn exactly who Bith was in real life, but no more than it would surprise him to learn who she was. After all, who would ever expect the imposing Helba to be a mousy haired brunette with a boyish haircut?

Sighing and putting all of this out of mind, Maya Ibuki came back to reality as the train reached her stop. She glanced around once, twice to make sure Section Two wasn't anywhere nearby, and then proceeded to head to her apartment. It never paid to be too cautious when one worked for the Bastard King, and one had a secret life that one intended to keep secret. A short walk later, she had reached her apartment, and after a quick sweep for bugs with a handheld wand, she proceeded to enter.

Inside was perhaps her two indulgences in life: a bookshelf of romance novels and a personal computer that was far ahead of almost any other in design and resources.

The operating system, firewall, almost everything about it had been customized until only the Magi could conceivably hack into it, well, the Magi or the Ultimate AI. She couldn't hold back one who was effectively a goddess of the Internet, after all, though that had not been a worry recently. Aura had disappeared, and that was more disquieting to her than anything else about this mess.

Doffing her jacket, she walked over to her work chair, easing herself into it and bringing the computer online with a touch of a button. Having waited obediently in standby mode for quite a while, it was almost…eager to get back to its self-appointed role. In her more critical and suspicious moments, she thought that perhaps in all her dealings with AIs, her computer was evolving a consciousness of its own. It wasn't unheard of…even memory fragments in The World had done the same.

The first thing she did download of The World: R2. It would take only a few minutes, and while she waited, she ran a few utilities that salvaged her character data. _Aha!_ In a matter of seconds, the details were retrieved, and she looked upon her old PC…a statuesque blonde Wavemaster outfitted in a white dress with purple triangular designs and what resembled a matching queen's helm, hiding her eyes behind a red visor trimmed by gold. Oh, and lest anyone forget…level 99, and with all stats maxed out.

She would keep what she could, she supposed, and update the rest, since Wavemaster had ceased to be a class in this version of The World, and she didn't feel like attracting the attention of the administration quite this early on.

'**Download complete' **popped up on screen and Maya smirked in a way that few who knew her at work would recognize. It was time to play.

She quickly installed The World: R2, using one of her programs to pull from it what information she could. Max stats, levels, item information poured out of nothingness onto her display, and she chose what she wanted to be rather quickly, creating two characters, one with maxed level and stats that would remain dormant for now, and another for the foreseeable future. For the one she would be using to enjoy playing once again, she wanted something rather like her old class…

'_The closest approximation would be…ah yes, a Harvest Cleric with…enhanced skills.'_

She spliced together the skill data of all three casting classes, though the default appearance would be that of a Cleric. People had always needed the Wavemaster class for healing, and Maya suspected that R2 would not be very different. Once that was chosen, she loaded her former PC's appearance profile, merging it with her new character, wondering just how many people would remember her. Hopefully, no one would give her a second look, and with her carefully edited stats (just a point above the maximum possible for a beginner), and weapon (a staff that could possibly exceed the power of a Edge Punisher's blade in melee damage) she would be able to prove herself quite well on the battlefield.

Finally, Maya (or would Helba be more appropriate) typed in what would likely be her new alias: '**Tsukinoki', **named for a certain type of tree she was fond of.

Once that was done, it was time for a visit to the past. She put on her headset and started up The World: R2, as reality faded away to reveal the broken down appearance of the Net Slums, which was now…being carried atop a tortoise.

'_Tartarga has certainly been growing in the last few months, and this new release of The World likely finished the final step of evolution for him. It is different from what I remember, but…it is good as well. At least CC Corp was unable to touch the Net Slums.'_

A low, resonant voice, wizened with age, spoke to her then in a voice that was strangely enough, a seeming whisper.

"Welcome again to Net Slum, Lady Helba, Queen of the Dark. You have…changed."

"Indeed. But I am called Tsukinoki now. The World changes, and I must change, too. Perhaps I should even call this Net Slums Tartarga, now, old friend, since my Root Town is riding upon your back."

There was a rumbling of what sounded like a pleased chuckle before the vast AI spoke once more:

"Perhaps, mi'lady."

A question came to mind, one that she was certain an AI might know a little more about than a human, no matter how skilled a hacker said human may be.

"Any news as to the whereabouts of Aura?"

"None, save for CC Corp's failures. So who is to be the shadowed one who quests for the Twilight Dragon?"

"We will see, old friend. We will see."

Tsukinoki turned and looked in the direction of the setting sun, whose rays were giving ground at last to the liminality of twilight, as a virtual wind picked up, rippling the hem of her dress. She smiled briefly for a moment, knowing that no matter how much had changed in this new World, it was good to be back. Not only her release from reality, it was also central to her preferred identity as well…closer to a home than anything else could ever be.

It was quite a while that she simply stood there, staff in hand, enjoying the view and the feel of the cool breeze upon her skin. The World's equivalent of Second Impact had passed, and it was time to rebuild, to explore new possibilities.

The Queen of the Dark looked up and smiled, calling out imperiously: **"Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu!"**

A golden spiral of light surrounded her and whisked her away to the place where all was once again beginning...


	4. Login 03: Proving Grounds

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Δ Server Eternal City Mac Anu**

Golden spirals of light descended near the Chaos Gate, vanishing to reveal the form of a still shaken Skari. In spite of the Shadow Warlock's reassuring words, he still felt bad about having to kill Eris, even if the alternative was—

"WHAT? THE BAKA HENTAI RETURNS? Has the invincible pervert monk Skari come back to gloat? Or are you just stalking me, hentai?"

Having only skimmed the manual, Skari had overlooked the fact that characters defaulted back to the root town or their last save point after being killed. Thus, it came as quite a surprise (and a rude one at that) that he found himself face to face from an extremely irate Edge Punisher, namely the self-proclaimed PK Eris.

"BAKA—because of you I'll have to start over from level 1!" she raged, muttering something under her breath about pesky intervening Shadow Warlocks, and spineless wimps who fought like they had a stick up their collective asses (in German, of course).

And of course, in such a short time, Skari had not had time to ingrain within his personality the value of strength in The World, so he tried to do the only thing he could think of to do: apologize again (though really, apologizing to someone who tried to kill you is just bad form).

"I—"

"Save it for someone who cares," Eris hissed. Her voice dropped to a deadly whisper that was almost deafening in the silence. "Just be warned…next time we meet, _you're dead_."

With that, she flounced petulantly out of the area, joining the teeming masses wandering the streets of the Eternal City. This was just another part of the game that Skari would have to get used to, he supposed, though he fervently hoped that his next field adventure would not involve someone charging at him with a chainsaw sword that made him want to run away as fast as his feet could carry him, irrespective of what his mantra normally was.

"That was well handled," came a cool musical voice from the shadows, sprinkled with just a hint of sarcasm.

Skari whirled about to see who it could be, eyes widening as he noted the presence of a statuesque blond, an expression of amusement on her face. Her features were stern and severe, though her eyes were hidden behind a red visor trimmed by gold. She was a Harvest Cleric to be sure, outfitted in a flowing white dress with purple triangular designs and what resembled a matching queen's helm, though she resembled nothing as much as a regal sorcerer-queen.

The Harvest Cleric looked at him, sizing him up. This was slightly unnerving to Skari, who didn't want anyone to think of him as a pervert or useless, though after the display (or lack of one) that he had just put on, he would be hard pressed to argue the point. Then the Cleric spoke again, in the calm but slightly scornful tone of one accustomed to command:

"You should have more confidence in yourself, Skari the Adept Rogue. Or you will only attract more PKs like that one, and next time…you may not end up as lucky."

She said this with an enigmatic smile playing across her lips, and then turned to the Chaos Gate, as if waiting for someone. At least it wasn't a case of waiting for Godot, though, as another spiral of golden light soon flared into existence, dimming away to reveal another Harvest Cleric, this time a small boy dressed in dark blue robes fringed with what looked like depictions of ocean surf.

A note played.

_A in C Major_, Skari thought, from his musical training. _Odd, I don't remember any notes chiming in when I gated in or out._

He tried to surreptitiously study the new arrival, trying to see why there was a hint of oddness about him. At first glance, the new Cleric didn't appear threatening, with a friendly smile set in an honest face with tousled gray hair, big blue eyes, and a small teardrop shaped tattoo on his left cheek. But looking again, one would invariably note that he held in one hand a staff like a frozen whirlpool, and in the other a glowing green-blue diamond with a small pulsating sphere inside, both of which seemed to reek with the smell of rareness, if such a thing existed.

_But where are Arano and Asuna…they said that they'd be right behind me. Maybe they just abandoned me like everyone else will in the end. Not even my father wanted me, so what's the chance that someone I just met would stick with me. After all, I'm just a beginner…I'm…useless, compared to them._

The new arrival walked up to the regal queen-like Harvest Cleric, who simply turned to regard him with something approaching amusement as he greeted her with a half bow.

"Greetings, my Queen."

"And greetings to you as well. I see you too have been reborn into this World, unlike the Twilight."

"Yes, mi'lady," spoke the young boy, his voice lowering to a hushed half-whisper. "Rumor has it that a new class of being is coming into existence, a new mystery after the Last Puzzle was solved and the God of The World returned to the wind. Rumor says that there are black spots seen in the darkness of shadows, watching and learning."

Her smile faded, replaced with a carefully neutral expression. She was, of course, intimately familiar with the Twilight Incident, and all involved in it, including AIs, and this bit of information put her on guard. Being the master of Net Slum (or perhaps Net Slum Tartarga would be more appropriate now), she knew well of AIs, as that place was the home to many vagrants…and having fought against Morganna, she knew the dangers posed by an powerful and malevolent AI, both to The World and to the world offline.

"Is this something else of the black box?" she asked, interested to see if something else was growing from Harald's old system.

"No. Rumor has it that these are born of errors, of voids in the system since the Goddess left. To quote the Epitaph: '_From deep within the void arrives Corbenik. Perhaps then the Wave is just a beginning as well.'"_

The Queen of the Dark rubbed a finger along her chin for a moment, tilting her head in consideration of that bit of the Epitaph.

_Perhaps there is something more I must investigate. I suppose that that means I'll be back to my old hobbies._

At that a small smile made its way to her lips, even as she flicked her left hand and a staff materialized within her hand, very similar to the one she had used as a Wavemaster in the last incarnation of The World. It could be said to almost literally hum with a power of old, from before The End, and to any who had known her then, she would have been instantly recognizable.

"Yes, and on the subject of the Epitaph, we have more to discuss in private, Rumor. Take me to the place where you have witnessed this."

The small boy nodded, and seconds later, a ping sounded in the ear of the Sorceress in White. She turned to the Adept Rogue, who had been standing to the side and watching, coolly regarding him once more.

"I am called Tsukinoki. I have the feeling that we will meet again, in due time…slayer of the divine."

With that the two Harvest Clerics gated out, vanishing in spirals of golden light. Skari repeated Tsukinoki's last words, coming to the title she had given him before freezing, his eyes wide with shock, mouth still half shaping a "How?" before he closed it, setting his jaw in a firm line.

_Is that just a nickname? Or does she know who __I am? And if she knows who I am, does that mean…?_

Then his shoulders slumped, as he was beginning to think that waiting was pointless. _Why bother anyway? No one would ever come for him, except to cause him pain, or to use him for their own purposes. No one—_

As if fate just had it in for him, it was then that two more spirals of light flared into existence, revealing a very disgruntled Shadow Warlock and Tribal Grappler: none other than the long awaited Arano and Aruna. The Shadow Warlock spoke first:

"Sorry about taking so long. The connection dropped and we had to sign in again."

Skari sighed with noticeable relief. So that was why they were late. That they were late was nothing worse than Misato had been on the first time she'd come for him, and at least they had a good reason for it. Misato, on the other hand, couldn't find her way around NERV, much less a full size city. So he hadn't been abandoned….that was a start.

"So. You actually came," he said in an almost toneless voice that still managed to convey a trace of annoyance.

To his surprise, it was the rather reticent Tribal Grappler Aruna who replied, using the speed inherent to his class to get Skari into a headlock and give him a noogie, causing the Adept Rogue to wince in annoyance.

"Don't give me disrespect. Didja think we wouldn't? We said we'd be here, man, and here we are. Come 'ere," said Aruna as he administered his rough treatment.

Shadow Warlock Arano coughed disapprovingly, looking pointedly at his partner.

"Aruna, stop that. What have I told you about not thinking before you act? Remember when you punched out someone who ended up saving us from…that gang?" he admonished. Then, a sly glint appeared in his eyes, reflected quite well in his voice. "Besides, I thought you said you wanted to change…what _would_ the Class Rep say if she knew you were picking on people again?"

As if struck by lightning, Aruna jumped back and waved his hand frenetically in front of him, laughing nervously. His face betrayed no trace of actual mirth though, seeming pale and vaguely fearful of something yet to some.

"Sorry, man. Its all harmless fun, right?" he voiced nervously, "No need to tell anyone, least of all the Class Rep."

It was strange how there was almost a pleading quality to his voice as he said that, carefully putting his arms behind his back, where they couldn't be implicated in any further incidents. And in spite of still being shaken, Skari couldn't keep himself from laughing at how a few words could make a seeming tough-guy like Aruna back down from his rough-housing so easily.

_Ah, so the mysterious Aruna is not quite as strong and silent as he seems. Something to keep in mind for the future…maybe some in real life are this way too._

"It's alright," he chuckled, "lets just say you owe me one."

He managed to keep a straight face as Aruna's tall, built frame sagged with relief. This was not true of the other member of the duo though, since the sound of smothered sniggering could be heard. When Aruna whipped around to glare at Arano, though, the Shadow Warlock was simply whistling, looking up in the "yeah, I did it, what are you going to do about it" sort of way that caused the Tribal Grappler to advance threateningly towards him.

It certainly made for an interesting display, as Arano waggled a finger at the Tribal Grappler and said rather manner-of-factly: "And if you try to turn on me in a field, I'll fry you," before waving an arm in the direction of the shops. "Lets get what we need and go. We want to level up some more, right?"

Aruna relented with an indignant huff, and turned to follow the Shadow Warlock to the various shops. He paused just long enough to look over his shoulder and call out:

"Yo, you coming, Skari?"

The Adept Rogue nodded, and the three went off as a trio into the bustling streets of the Eternal City, where more embarrassments were sure to wait.

**...**

**Half an hour later**

**...**

The three were back at the Chaos Gate, laden with enough supplies for a journey. Apparently, someone had made a gift of a Spin Kouga (a level 4 Twin Sword) and some healing drinks to Skari, and both Aruna and Arano were teasing him about who it could be, half-admiringly for having been noticed so early.

"Got yourself a secret admirer in The World, eh? You got all the luck, man. Wonder who it could be?" went Aruna.

To this, Skari only shrugged, only to turn red enough to put a tomato to shame when Arano continued the train of thought, waggling his eyebrows for emphasis:

"Yeah, maybe it's some cute stranger who has a crush on that bishi PC of yours, that, or the PK you met wants to _see you privately again_and needs you to be more…_vigorous_."

Consulting his mental catalogue of actions (of which the two most often used were "Run Away" and "Apologize"), Skari found himself choosing a verbal equivalent of the first, one that most people used well: Change the subject.

"Um…Lets just choose a field to go to before it gets too late."

Sly, knowing expressions came over both of his companions' faces, but they relented, for as fun as teasing could be, they did need to choose a field or they'd be standing at the gate all day.

"Eh…how about **Δ Submissive Love's Puddle**?" suggested the Tribal Grappler, causing Skari to want to melt into the floor, blushing beet-red once more as his thoughts wandered off to a quiet place.

"Nice," smirked the Shadow Warlock, "but since our friend Skari is obviously uncomfortable even with the thought of the name, and a bit lower than us in level…why don't we let him choose? Meanwhile, I'll send the party invite."

_Ping!_ The sound of arriving Flash Mail. Though he had only skimmed the manual, Skari remembered how to use this feature, and gratefully accepted the party invitation.

_So let's see. I'm level 2…and they're both level 5. Maybe a level 7 area for challenge? I'll show them I can do this, even if it's the death of me. After all, that's what Ayanami would do, right?_

"How about **Δ Adoring Dusk's Generation**?" he suggested, with more confidence than he really felt.

Arano looked skeptically at the area name as he tried out the combination for himself.

"That's a little on the high side. We shouldn't push our luck that much, as our average level is 4"

This, of course, inflamed Aruna's competitive tendencies.

"What do you mean 'push our luck?' We're already level 5, and our level 2 friend PKed a level 4…well, with a bit of help, but still not bad for the first day, eh?"

Skari felt crushed at having his suggestion turned down, and it must have showed, for Arano turned to look at him, and seemed to pity him enough to relent.

"Well, fine, then its settled. I guess seeing the way you fought against that Edge Punisher PK, you fight with more skill and aggression than most people your level. You obviously have some experience with this kind of fighting. We'll gate out first this time, just in case there's anything threatening nearby."

With that, the Shadow Warlock and Tribal Grappler raised their hands, calling out **Δ Adoring Dusk's Generation, **and spirals of golden light spirited them away. After waiting a moment to make sure they had gone, Skari did the same, leaving Mac Anu in the hands of the all those others wandering the streets.

* * *

**Δ Adoring Dusk's Generation**

The first thing that Skari saw upon going to the field was that the Grappler and Warlock duo had wandered forward a little, so he broke into a run to catch up with them. Not really looking where he was going, he tripped over something, sprawling out onto the floor.

As he picked himself up, he looked behind him to see what he had stumbled over, only to see an animal wandering around that was either black faced monkey, or a lamb standing up on two feet. In front of it, a silvery-blue vortex appeared, summoning a…golden Easter Egg? No, on second glance, it was just a creature that vaguely resembled an Easter Egg…with a crown and four legs.

This commotion naturally brought the other two running, and Aruna looked down at the little critter, dumbfounded.

"Dude, you _do_ have all the luck. That's a King Chim Chim!" shouted Aruna, running up and kicking the creature enthusiastically. "Come on, help me…we have to kick it 'til it gives up its Chim Sphere!"

Arano jumped in, knowing that Aruna usually knew what he was talking about when it came to games, but Skari was a bit puzzled as to why this display of violence was necessary.

_Kick it 'til it drops something? What in The World…? I'd be just like father if I was needlessly cruel…_

But in spite of his reservations, he did need some relief from his frustrations, and any thoughts of his father definitely tended to trigger great anger. Even now, as his fist clenched and unclenched, he began to realize why he had been so shaken by Eris' death: it had felt _**good**_ to be able to resist someone trying to use him, to ruthlessly destroy instead of running away.

_Was it really the EVA that went berserk that first time? Or was it me? Maybe I can learn to control this rage for my own use…_

Skari joined in the kicking frenzy, letting his anger take over as he stuck again and again. It was a pleasant release, a catharsis of sorts, made all the more pleasant by the thought that he wouldn't be hurt by this. Obviously, he hadn't counted on the King Chim Chim swelling up with each blow, until it became bigger than him. The enraged creature leapt up into the air, trying to crush Skari under its massive bulk.

He dashed away from it and it leapt again. He ducked under it, and it leapt again. He tried to circle behind it…and was smashed face-first into the ground.

_This is it. The end has come…why bother resisting?_

Skari squeezed his eyes shut tight and waited for death to come, only to open them a few seconds later to find that he was still alive. And not only that, but he had taken no damage at all. Meanwhile, his party members continued to pummel the ever-expanding King Chim Chim. With each blow, it puffed up larger and larger, until with a thunderous BOOM, it swelled too large and burst, showering the ground nearby with 50 Chim Spheres and a rare item called the Chim Crown.

The Adept Rogue had gotten up from the ground just in time to be crushed against it once more by the explosion, and bopped on the head by the Crown, to add insult to injury. Down he went once more, an bit of annoyance nagging at his mind.

_It would almost have been comedic if it weren't happening to me_. _Why me?_

This time, Aruna helped him up and presented him with 20 Chim Spheres and the Crown, with a grin.

"Here. Your share of the spoils, since you found that thing and it…uh, trampled you. Chim Spheres, basic power source of The World, for things like Steam Doors, Warp Points and something called a Mecha Grunty. Don't ask me what that last one is, I don't know. Knew there were Chim Chims in the field, but I didn't expect to run into a King so soon …you must have some pretty good luck."

_Pretty good for getting myself into situations that I can't get out of, maybe. Oh, and for getting people to notice me when I don't want them to and abandon me otherwise. As for anything else…we'll see._

The Adept Rogue muttered his thanks with a weak smile, taking the Chim Spheres and putting them away. Movement caught his eye, and he turned to see light glinting from something in the distance. He narrowed his eyes, and could jut barely make out… _a swarm of upright walking swords?_ Arano looked in the direction that seemed to have Skari so enraptured and ended up looking back at his comrades with a thin, nasty smile that promised great pain to come.

"Perfect, some Vak Bezels, basic creatures, really. Ready to do some damage?"

With that he took off into a run, rushing towards the mob of creatures, and chanting under his breath.

"Last one to land a blow gets none of the spoils from this swarm. _**Rue Kruz!"**_

Orbs of water manifested themselves out of the aether and hurtled towards the foes to soften them up for the melee attackers, the Tribal Grappler and the Adept Rogue, eliciting shrieks of pain as they caused pandemonium in the ranks. Water was, after all, strong against fire, and their magical defenses were none too good. Then the melee members closed ranks, charging into the fray with frenzied war cries, decimating the low-leveled opponents' defenses.

At least, that's what happened at first, before a group of monsters that had remained relatively unmolested unleashed a few _**Flame Dances **_at the hapless Adept Rogue, which would have done him in, except that the Tribal Grappler Aruna leapt to take the blow, defending himself against it with only a grunt issuing from his lips. Nodding in gratitude, Skari took the moment to strike at his otherwise preoccupied foes, scattering their data across the field with a few well-aimed strikes of his blades. When the battle was finished, he had leveled up again.

_Almost high enough to use those new Twin Swords…_

Looking around the battlefield, the trio picked up a few "Fire Storm" scrolls, which could be used even by the non-magically inclined to cast fire spells. The Tribal Grappler and Adept Rogue each took one, but left the majority with the Shadow Warlock, who could best put these to use, as he had the best magic bonus…and the monsters would get harder from here.

And they did. The next mob managed to blindside them instead of the other way around, and the trio was caught unprepared. Fortunately, it was just a bunch of Goblin Rookies that were easily enough dispatched…or would have been had it not been for sheer numbers. Skari found himself literally having to beat them off from jumping at him, doing a few somersaults here and there to avoid thrusts and slashes.

His feet beat out a tap dancing rhythm as he jumped up to avoid a sword aimed low and then kicked one of the goblins into another one, with Aruna joining him in that strategy until they were all clumped together.

"_**Vak Don!"**_

A massive fireball fell from the sky, crashing down into the clump of goblins and incinerating them with pitiful ease. The three congratulated each other, healed and kept going. For the most part, they were able to continue with contemptuous ease due to their strategy…until they came to a mob of Goblin Guards, much tougher foes, though still shaped much in the same way as the rookies, execeptthat they had shields.

Skari gulped, knowing that these creatures were a little—well, more than just a little—above his level, with about 3x the HP of Goblin Rookie, but raised his blades (now the Spin Kouga) anyway, just as Arano stretched out his hand.

To be honest, Skari was beginning to have a few second thoughts about choosing this field, even as, as—

"_**Zan Rom!"**_

_Well, no time to worry about that now._

A tornado of wind burst forth from the Warlock's hand to strike at the mob, scattering them and leaving those that remained in a daze as the melee fighters rushed in. Skari thought it would be much like the other times, and spun about to attack the enemies about him…only to realize, to his dismay, that the Goblins had learned how to block and do combo attacks of their own.

One of them seemed likely to be using a summon spell to get help, and Skari dived at it, interrupting its casting, only to be slammed by the shield and hit by a blurred flurry of moves that shaved off a third of his HP.

_Oh just great…I'm going to die here. There's no way I can beat all of these, and I didn't save, either. _

"_**Zan Rom!"**_

Normally, Skari would have been grateful for the help, but not this time. This time, he was the victim of those oft-cursed words "friendly fire", as the tornado's fierce winds knocked him to the ground and battered him to within a sliver of his character's death. Muttering angrily to himself, he took a health drink to restore HP and then let himself go.

His frenzy was a thing of beauty to behold, his twin swords carving circles in the air as his long blue hair streamed out behind him, robes fluttering in the wind. Another Goblin rushed at him, but Skari leapt up this time, somersaulting forward and striking with _left-right-left_ to carve the foe in twain. With Aruna at his side lashing out at anything that got past him, the tension meter soon filled. Looking at one another, they unleashed the feared Beast Awakening, during which their power and speed were increased, enough so that all could cause "_**Rengeki**_" where damage was heightened, EXP and GP were gained, and they were pretty much invincible.

"_**King Hammer!" **_cried Aruna, divine fists slamming Goblins left and right, herding them carefully towards Skari.

"_**Sword Dance!" **_was Skari's contribution to this affair, his blades a shining windmill of death and carnage, causing his foes to shrink backwards, until they were in between him and the Grappler, at which point—

"_**Gan Bolg!"**_ chimed in Arano, the signal for Aruna and Skari to _dive out of the way_, as thin needles of earth lanced out, riddling the last remaining Goblin Guards with so many spines that they resembled nothing as much as pincushions.

Yes, they raised their shield-arms to block…with the result that those were pierced and broken, rendered useless for long enough for Skari to dance in and hack at the leftovers precisely in a cold fury. Even with a small remnant charging him one last time, they could not endure the maelstrom he brought to the field, crackling energies whirling about him, Spin Kouga spinning round and round, trapping opponents between blades and slicing them into submission.

Obviously, that voice in his head (the one that went: _'Center the target, pull the switch.') _had guided him, and the other party members stepped back as they watched him rhythmically disembowel every last goblin to come his way, with Arano doing only required intervention with an occasional _"__**Repth"**_ skill to ensure their berserker didn't die.

Finally, it was over, and Skari was breathing hard, grinning insanely in the middle of the mob of mutilated goblins. It was a long and somewhat tense few seconds before the light in his eyes gradually returned to normal, with his glowing battle aura lingered for a few moments before turning golden and receding. He was finally level 8, almost on par with his battle companions, and it was about time too…the boss was next.

Aruna looked at him with a new measure of respect. Anyone who could fight like that was no doubt formidable in real life as well (and just a little terrifying). Obviously, he needed to stop underestimating people. He'd already done it twice now, once with…the kid he'd hit, and now with this Adept Rogue.

_I guess that Arano's a little better at reading people, even if he is a geek._

"Onwards," intoned Skari in a surprisingly commanding voice. "We just need to face the boss, and then we'll be out of here."

A moment later he dropped to his hands and knees, having exerted himself a tad too much in that last battle. He could not speak, his breaths coming in short, shallow gasps as he remained there, prone. Arano had to pat him on the back once more, and try to talk him out of it.

"Calm down…breathe, just breathe. I can tell you're into this game, enough to frenzy yourself, but pull back for a moment, will you? Geez, you'll give yourself a heart-attack."

He said nothing more. There was nothing that could really be said, and for many minutes, the only sound to be heard in that field was labored breathing, before that finally faded back to a normal rhythm.

Eager to be of some use while his comrades recovered, Aruna decided to scavenge the field for anything of use from the last battle. He grunted to find only a few health drinks and a single Spin Corpse, a Twin Blade weapon that he handed to Skari. The health drinks he would need himself, since Tribal Grapplers were notorious for low HP.

When the breathing returned to normal, each member of the party restored themselves with what potions they required, whether HP, SP or otherwise. Thus fortified, they sought out the last boss: the Crumple Tree, a notoriously difficult monster in The World: R2 for anyone under level 10. Some might think it strange that a group of three would seek the last mob so fervently, but they were tired, and simply wanted to finish this.

Wandering through the field, they searched through the low places before finally climbing a hill to gain a better vantage point. Almost immediately, they spotted their quarry.

"There," said Arano, pointing at a trio of creatures at the bottom of the hill. "That's the Boss Mob."

These last creatures were gigantic walking tree stumps with faces on the side, lumbering about on four massive feet and capable of inflicting terrible damage to an unguarded party.

"_That's _a Crumple Tree?" hissed Aruna incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me. How the heck am I even going to damage that thing?"

He looked over at Skari to see his reaction, only to see the Adept Rogue brandishing his blades, an eerily intent look on his face.

"Lets finish this," was all that he said in the low, menacing tones of a man who means business.

Arano sighed and threw up his hands.

"As you wish, then."

He handed out a Fire Storm scroll to each of his compatriots, and signaled both of them to raise their hands much as he was doing, hopefully for the last time that night.

"_**Vak Don!"**_was the resounding cry from all three, as great balls of fire fire rained down from the sky to fall upon the giant walking trees.

An ear splitting roared of pain erupted from the monsters a moment later, as they retaliated in kind with a skill of their own, one known adequately as _**"Forest Rage!"**_

Battle had been joined, and without an alternative, it was either win—or die. Though their HP meters dropped quickly, Aruna and Skari charged in, attacking for all that they were worth. While Skari kept them all at bay with _**"Saber Dance"**_, his Twin Swords glowing blue with power as they attempted to slice into the ever-resisting wood, Aruna used his speed and athleticism to get in close.

The Tribal Grappler dived to avoid a blow, rolling beneath one of the creatures and unleashing the _**"King Hammer"**_ skill on its relatively unprotected underside. A fireball hit that one a moment later, and Skari followed up with a focused series of slashes that unleashed the wind itself to his aid. It turned an ashen gray and vanished, leaving two to defeat.

It was then that Aruna was trampled by one of the remaining Crumple Trees, his form unable to wriggle out from one of the massive feet. Point blank, a skill was unleashed on him, once…then again, and his character died. At least they were in a party, so there was still hope, even if not much. Even Skari and Arano, slashing and casting for all they were worth, could not hope to defeat two bosses on their own.

To their credit, they managed to defeat one with a _**"Triple Strike"**_ and a _**"Rue Kruz"**_but that was truly the end. They were on the edge of death, with no more SP left, and still one boss. Still, they could not run away, so there was no alternative but to attack. They looked at one another grimly, in the manner of men knowing they were about to die, raised their weapons and—

"_**OrAni Zot! HuaRip Maen! LaHua Repth!"**_

Claws erupted from the ground and dragged the last Crumple Tree into a shadowy pit, from which it could not return. The three were stunned into stillness by shock and puzzlement, as that skill had NOT issued from any of them. Then a light flared first over Aruna's fallen form, reanimating it with vitality, and then shimmered over all of the party members, restoring their HP to max.

It was Skari who first recovered enough from his shock to look to the source of the shout. To his surprise, it was the small Harvest Cleric that he had seen earlier in Mac Anu, with the tousled grey hair, big blue eyes, and a small teardrop shaped tattoo on his left cheek.

"You…" he began, before words failed him.

"Rumor has it that PKs are headed this way. Best be leaving soon, before you encounter them."

With that, the mysterious spellcaster turning to go, though the Shadow Warlock Arano called after him, hoping to satisfy his curiosity,

"Wait. Who are you, and how did you know we needed rescuing?"

"You'd be surprised what you can learn from rumors. And I am merely one who revels in them."

Ignoring any further attempts to speak to him, Rumor walked onwards, vanishing from sight behind another hill. Warily, the three members of the party looked at each other, trying to figure out how the diminutive Harvest had found them…and how he had gotten so powerful. Shaking their heads, they collected the spoils in silence, deciding that rumor or not, they should get out of the area before PKs reached them.

"Thanks for having me, hope I wasn't too much of a burden," said Skari at last.

"You did well for your first time. Certainly better than Aruna here," quipped Arano, which earned him a noogie from the aforementioned player.

"Why you—?"

Skari intervened at that moment, his voice like a frozen blade of ice, causing the two to involuntarily take a step back and look at him.

"_Enough_. There's been enough fighting for one day, and we certainly don't need to fight one another as well. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be here when the PKs get here."

Aruna grunted in assent, and released his hold on Arano. The Shadow Warlock rubbed his head and turned to Skari.

"Lets meet again in Mac Anu sometime soon then. You have our member addresses. Just this time… pick something a bit more manageable, alright?"

Skari rolled his eyes, chuckling at his own folly earlier in the day.

"Alright. Well, good night, guys."

"Good night."

The comrades in arms dissolved their party, and moments later, each of the three was encased by a spiral of golden light, whisking them away from the field and back to reality.

The note A in C Major was heard, a faint ripple appeared in the field, and then **Δ Adoring Dusk's Generation** returned to stillness once more.


	5. Login 03a: Discord and Winter

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

**

* * *

Δ Server Eternal City Mac Anu**

The Edge Punisher known as Eris was…mildly displeased, to put a delicate spin on her mood. Or for a more honest description, perhaps livid would be more appropriate.

She was once again at level 1, the very lowest one could go, and it was all the fault of that perverted Adept Rogue and the meddlesome Shadow Warlock that had saved him, humiliating her in the process. Dark thoughts crossed her mind as she remembered the unexpected spell that had kept her from administering the coup de grace, causing her to wince.

_Verdamme interfering stooge! Next time I'll be strong enough to take him on too, and if this had been a fair fight, I could have eviscerated that Warlock easily. But the dumbkopf had to hit me with one of his spells…and water too!_

A low growl issued from the back of her throat as she bared her teeth in a snarl, her eyes casting about for a target, any target, blazing with enough anger that she almost seemed to radiate a red battle aura. As those around her were no fools, they kept their distance.

_Cowards!_ She thought, tossing her hair as she stormed through the streets of Mac Anu. _Are they afraid to take on the mighty Eris, the Bringer of Strife?_

She grinned at that thought, but there was no real emotion behind it, just a rather transparent attempt to convince herself that she was still the best player in The World (at least, according to her rather fickle set of standards). It failed, of course, as scenes of her defeat at Skari's hands replayed over and over in her mind.

That…that _wunderkind_ had been nothing more than a newbie, and Eris had been 3 levels above him. Three! Oh, of a certainty, that wouldn't have mattered if they were both at say…level 30, where a gap of 3 would be trivial, but they weren't. Instead of getting to level 5 with his death, her hopes of quickly ascending to be the most feared player here had been dashed, all by an Adept Rogue with the audacity to stand his ground…and a meddling fool she swore she would crush.

_Scheiße! Verdamme Sie!_ _Why did that_ _Scheißkopf have to resist? It wasn't supposed to end like that, with him humiliating me. I need to become much stronger. Strong enough to utterly crush him like the vermin that he is. The baka deserves no better..._

For a few minutes, she stewed in her anger, with rather dark thoughts going through her head. As it turned out, the image of Skari impaled upon her blade did have its merits, and now she had found a goal besides that of becoming a Chaotic PK who could strike at will, all but invincible.

_But first, I have to train. I have to go out to the fields again and kill some monsters…or more unsuspecting players. Preferably a Shadow Warlock to ease my frustrations._

With that, she did a rapid 180, turning about and…knocking over a passing Blade Brandier. Being a somewhat decent person…oh wait, this was Eris the PK, not some other player in The World. Being a self-centered jerk, she snapped at the figure on the ground.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DUMMKOPF!" she practically spat at the hapless man, expecting him to cower before her.

She was rewarded by an blank stare, as the girl—no, man garbed in tight fitting purple armor, glared at her, straightening his cap, lavishly decorated with roses. It was hard to tell, since the Blade Brandier had long, braided blue hair and was not definitively male. Still, there was a sort of strength about him, not like ice but diamond, sharp and biting, frozen forever as if the arctic winds themselves were his companions.

For a moment, she thought he was Skari, for both had that distinctive long silvery-blue hair, but there was no way that that newbie could have unlocked another job already. Besides, this one had different clothing, and was rather handsome, in a cold way…

In spite of her resolve not to be intimidated, Eris took a step backwards, finding the look unpleasant.

"…Move out of my way, ugly doll," the Blade Brandier snapped icily, as he began to get up, rising to a sitting position.

_He…called me…a doll. Who does he think he is to call me a DOLL?_

Eris' eyes flashed in anger as she moved to stand over the man, her hands twitching towards her sword.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you call me a doll, you waspish, pathetic wimp?" she shouted at the Blade Brandier, who was all but ignoring her. She waited a few seconds before what was left of her patience expired. "Well? Answer me!"

"…not a doll. An ugly doll," was the simple reply, as the Blade Brandier tripped her and got to his feet, his eyes roaming over her form as if she was indeed nothing more than some hideous vessel to catalogue and avoid.

Seething with rage, she almost drew her sword, before remembering that there was no combat allowed in Mac Anu.

"Well…_who are you_? Just so I know who to kill in the Arena," she hissed through clenched teeth.

The blue-haired man gave her a dismissive look and turned away, tossing one word over his shoulder as he made for the Chaos Gate.

"Endrance."

_Endrance, eh? That Blade Brandier will pay for what he did. He called me a DOLL! He and all blue-haired players will pay…all of them._

Eris trailed him with her eyes as the figure faded into the distance, vanishing in a spiral of golden light to parts unknown. Rising to her feet, she tried to calm herself down by taking slow, deep breaths, her fists clenching and unclenching as her laser-like stare bored through those around her once again. She wasn't exactly making many friends today, was she? Nor could she really afford to make so many enemies, as she was alone.

After a spell of several minutes, her anger subsided to more manageable levels, and she shook her head violently to clear her mind. She needed to train and grow stronger if she wanted to destroy those who had wronged her, but first…she had a small detour to make.

Grumbling about NPCs that overcharged for the basic necessities, she picked up some potions, just in case she would need them. It wasn't that the great Eris, self proclaimed PK and Bringer of Strife, thought she would, but it never hurt to be prepared…hence why she decided to save her game at the specified NPC. She _had_ learned to stow a little of her pride after her earlier defeat. All of that was simply preparation for the hunt though, and she hurried through her tasks until at last she was ready.

As she began to quickstep over to the Chaos Gate, she noticed someone gate in, a newbie from the look of it.

_Ah, someone who looks uncertain of where to go or what to do here. A perfect opportunity to gain some experience points. _

She smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. No, it was a nasty, arrogant smile, one that bespoke slime and probably a goodly amount of treachery to come. But, as she often chastised herself, that wouldn't do to greet someone, much less an unsuspecting newbie who might prove to be an easy kill. Thus, the PK forced her expression to soften into a vague imitation of helpfulness as she reached the platform where the portal spun.

Luckily for Eris, her prospective victim had not moved from the platform, instead glancing around as if waiting for someone. _Maybe I was right after all,_ she mused, as she got a better look at the character she planned to kill.

_She's just a little girl_ was the first thought to flash through Eris' mind. N_ot even 5 feet tall, with…blue-green hair hanging a little past her shoulders, pale skin, golden eyes, and dressed in some kind of white_ _gothic lolita style dress_. _Hmph!_ _I never saw that character costume as an option when I created my character. Black stockings and a huge white bow on her head…she's just a pervert's dream, isn't she?. Oh well, another kill for me…_

Eris cleared her throat, causing the little girl turned to look at her with startled eyes. The PK smiled warmly, waving a hand in greeting.

"Hi, I'm Eris, an Edge Punisher in The World. Can I help you, you look like you're waiting for someone."

The little girl cast her eyes downwards again, murmuring something too softly for Eris to hear. Playing the part of someone kind and gentle, the redhead found herself obliged to ask the little one to repeat herself.

_Oh come on little one, tell me. For all I know, you're some 40 year old man using this character to get your kicks out of other players. Just trust me, it's for your—well, my—own good._

The answer came back in a soft, shy voice that wasn't quite a whisper.

"I'm waiting for my brother."

_Ah, so she's either a little girl…or good at acting. Scheiße, there's a brother. I have to finish this quickly then, or take her out to a field. Hmm…the best way to do this would be to lie, right?_

"Why don't you tell me your name and job class?" Eris said calmly. "If you're who I think you are, your brother sent me to take you to the field where he is."

Again, the voice that wafted to her ears on the breeze in Mac Anu was—again—hardly louder than a whisper. But Eris didn't care…she was one step closer to getting some EXP for the day.

"Aina. Shadow Warlock."

Hearing that, Eris was pleased. A Shadow Warlock was just the class she wanted to face off against, particularly since they were helpless if she got in close with her chainsaw sword. And as a plus, this one had bluish hair as well. _Perfect. _What was one going to do anyway? Try to block with one of their useless Grimoires, only to see the precious book be torn to pieces by her weapon? _Ha!_ Still, as much of a struggle as it was, she managed to keep her face free of murderous intent, even managing to smile with a bit of warmth.

"Good, then you're just the person I was looking for. Your brother is at…**Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation. **Just input the keywords into the Gate and we'll be off."

Aina looked up and smiled brightly at Eris as if the PK was the most wonderful person in the world for giving her that information, before walkng up to the gate and vanishing in a spiral of golden light. The Edge Punisher was taken aback by this, wondering if she should have chosen someone else to PK, someone not as innocent as this obviously trusting girl.

_No…trust is for fools. If you trust in other people, you'll only get hurt in the end. The only one you can trust is yourself, so I'm doing her a favor by teaching her how the world works._

Touching her sword for good luck, Eris grinned and gated out as well, wondering what she would find when she reappeared.

**

* * *

Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation – Lost Ground Arche Kloen Falls**

A golden spiral of light flared into existence in midair, cascading down to the ground and vanishing to reveal the form of Eris, level one (and soon to be level two in her mind) Edge Punisher. When she opened her eyes and looked around, her mouth fell upon in a gape at her surroundings. Yes, there was some of the same terrain as in other fields, but all around her were torrents of water, like power all to droplets turned, cascading down an ancient temple's walls.

_Wow…this is certainly unexpected. This is a place of power, isn't it?_

"The Arche Koeln Falls…The Land of Origins…I remember this place from the Epitaph," came the soft-spoken voice Eris had last heard in Mac Anu. She whirled about to find Ina standing there, hands clasped in front of her. The petite Shadow Warlock had a peaceful look on her face and a happy glow in her eyes.

"The Epitaph?" inquired Eris, a pensive expression on her face.

"Yes, the Epitaph of Twilight, the epic poem on which The World was based. Written in many years ago by Emma Wielant, in the days before Pluto's Kiss."

_That was a long time ago…wait, Emma Wielant? I've heard of her…the German writer. _

"And how do you know of this Epitaph?" she asked archly.

"My brother talks about it all the time, and told me a little more about Emma. I had the chance to visit her grave not too long ago. '_Creator of legends, rest here now, as your own legend" _was written on that headstone.'"

Now this came as a surprise to Eris, who had not expected anyone to be that obsessed with a poem, or to have_…wait a minute, Wielant was German, meaning that her grave is in Germany and any inscription written in…_

"You know German, then?"

_Verdammt! She might be the only other German on this server—_

"A little," Aina admitted. "I came to Germany a little while ago. My brother asked me to play The World so that I could spend time with him."

Now, Eris was having second thoughts about going through with her planned PKing. She didn't want to kill someone who was beginning to pique her interest, _especially _if she knew German and might be able to understand her. Truth be told, it was lonely enough on the Japanese Server, since she hardly ever heard her native tongue, and no one played as she was used to.

_Now I feel conflicted…I need to become stronger, but I—_

"Thank you for taking me here. Will my brother be here soon?" Ina asked, while looking out over the waterfall around them.

"Yeah, he said he'd be here soon," replied Eris, making a decision and reaching stealthily for her chainsaw sword.

_Well, sorry Aina, but I have to do what I have to do._

She quickly drew her weapon and revved up the whirring blade, swinging it just in time to—

"—DIE! _**Wicked Strike!**_"

So shouted a quickly descending voice from above, as Eris was slammed backwards into a finger of rock by a viciously spinning Scythe.

_What in The World? There's another PK here?_

She had managed to block the brunt of the attack with her sword, but Ina had not been so lucky, having been thrown nearly into the churning waters of the falls. That and she had taken much more damage, since Shadow Warlocks wore only robes, while Edge Punishers wore much heavier armor. Out of the corner of her eye, Eris saw the Flick Reaper who had attacked them striding towards Ina, readying a finishing blow.

_That's it…NO BAKA IS GOING TO STEAL MY KILL!_

"_**Tiger Blitz!**_" Eris shouted, rushing at the new arrival and parrying the scythe mid-swing, her blade following the haft of the scythe to slash at one of the Flick Reaper's arms. The other PK jumped back into a guard position warily. "Who are you?"

Eris took a moment to size up her opponent, noting to her shock that it was another girl that looked a little like her, one that under different circumstances she might not mind working with. _She seems ruthless enough. _This one wore a loose flowing white dress with a blue underskirt, and carried with her a rather deadly looking weapon, a scythe like a demon's claw. Her pale face sported the sigil of darkness and a feral grin that distorted her features, framed by two long streaming pigtails of lustrous black hair.

"In life, I am called the light. In The World, Tomoyami of the Shadow is my name, weakling! What's yours?" taunted a rather sing-song voice, as the Flick Reaper leapt into the air again, bringing her weapon up and around in an attempt to cut down the Edge Punisher where she stood.

Eris knew better than to meet that attack head on, and flipped backwards to avoid it. Occasionally, discretion was the better part of valor, though not for long, if she could help it. She couldn't retreat, since she needed a kill.

_This girl probably has issues in real life or something…and she definitely likes power. Damn it, this is MY kill!_

Regaining her footing behind the Flick Reaper, Eris raised her weapon in mock-salute of her opponent, who spun about to confront her.

"I am Eris, Bringer of Strife, and your corpse will be the one on the field this day!" she retorted.

Then she charged forward, pointed like an arrow at her enemy, as the chainsaw sword buzzed metallically. She hoped to get inside her opponent's reach, for a Flick Reaper was a medium range, area attack class, and if Eris could get in close, she could do some heavy damage.

But Tomoyami, having fought several other foes today, was expecting something like that. To counter, she leapt back, blocking and striking with viciously quick speed, allowing her to charge a very special attack….one that caused a series of explosions about her, damaging the Edge Punisher and blinding her to the next slash of her scythe.

It was only sheer luck that let the fiery redhead deflect that hit, catching the razor-sharp edge of her opponent's blade between the saw-teeth of hers. Still, the momentum of her charge carried her forward, bringing her inside the Flick Reaper's circle of control, too close for either to use their weapons. Undaunted, Eris lashed out with her armored heel, causing the Flick Reaper to emit an unwitting "oof" as she stumbled back. Seizing the advantage, Eris elbowed her opponent and thencalled out "_**Tiger Blitz**_" again, her chainsaw sword whirring as it landed hit after hit, throwing out sparks as it forced the other back.

Tomoyami was furious. Not only had her attack failed, but her intended victim had turned the tables on her. Quickly considering her options, she realized that there was no way to counter by driving forward, not while continually taking damage from that sword. So, doing what she had to do, she tripped herself, falling back onto the ground. The Edge Punisher, who had been leaning forward in an effort to press her attack, reeled, off balance. She stumbled, giving the Flick Reaper enough time to smashing her heel into the redhead's face, bringing about her own weapon for a "_**Wicked Strike!**_"

Eris grunted in surprise as she was knocked backwards, the chainsaw sword flying from her hand, spinning through the air until with a thud it embedded itself in the ground next to Ina.

_And now I'm defenseless, without even my sword. If I could just get to it…but my class is far too slow…maybe a diversion…_

"Hey, Shadow girl, think quick! _**Fire Storm!" **_called out Eris, raising her hand as a fireball hurtled down from the sky towards her foe. Immediately after calling down the air strike, she made a mad dash for her sword, tugging at it in desperation.

_Come on, come on…bulge, why don't you? Please…I need you…_

But the sword remained stuck in the ground, despite her pleading, and she risked a glance over at Ina to see what Ina was doing. The little Shadow Warlock was staying back out of danger, looking upon the combatants with wide eyes.

_At least she's not drawing attention to herself…the last thing I need is for her to get killed before __**I**__ can PK her!_

Meanwhile, the Flick Reaper Tomoyami had NOT been expecting a magical attack, and she shrieked in indignation as she felt the heat of the quickly descending burst of fire. There was no way she could avoid it, but maybe—yes, it would work. She leapt up _through_ the fire, taking damage, but more importantly disappearing from sight as she sprang at towards the futilely struggling Eris.

"Give it up, you're helpless, just like your little doll here," Tomoyami sneered, as the relatively motionless Edge Punisher took the blow…and gained an unexpected benefit.

For all the vaunted strength of her class, Eris had been unable to pull her sword out of the ground…until the mighty blow from Tomoyami gave her the needed push. In the last moments before being struck, she had held tightly to the chainsaw sword, and when she was thrown backwards, the force rent the blade from the ground.

Using the momentum of the strike to her advantage, she flipped backwards, landing on her feet with sword in hand. She grinned tauntingly at the disbelieving Flick Reaper, putting on a show despite the fact that her HP was almost gone now. She still had enough for perhaps one last attempt to strike her foe, but wouldn't be able to manage it without help. Seeing no choice, she called out to Ina: "Snap yourself out of it…use a skill now, even if you only have one!"

Then she charged, letting everything ride on one last_** "Tiger Blitz!**_"

In the near distance, a slowly approaching figure in a midnight blue yukata watched the battle through crimson eyes, the spray and wind of the waterfalls tousling her unruly mop of azure hair. She flicked open one of the war fans she held and pointed at the Flick Reaper and then the Shadow Warlock, calling out tonelessly: _"__**Dek Corv. Ap Corma."**_

A dark aura manifested itself around Tomoyami for a moment, even as she made for her opponent one final time. _Even a normal strike would finish off the Edge Punisher_, she thought to herself.

A similar but more brightly tinted aura flared up around Aina, who, a bit fearful of the fighting that was going on, had just managed to raise herself to a sitting position. Listening to Eris, she pointed at the Flick Reaper and called out _**"Rue Kruz!" **_

_I just want to help the player who wanted to take me to my brother!_

Orbs of water manifested themselves out of the aether and hurtled towards the Flick Reaper, smashing into her and causing her to lose her balance. Tomoyami's HP bar took a disastrous fall to the red, and her eyes widened incredulously at the sight of this.

_How could this have—_

She tripped, and though she managed to slash at Eris one last time, it was to no avail. Her attack did much less than normal, while the Edge Punisher, herself surprised at surviving, rammed her blade home, impaling Tonoyami, whose mouth worked open and shut in shock. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a slowly approaching figure wielding twin fans.

_A Macabre Dancer—_ was the last thought she had before her character model grayed out and vanished, splintering to pieces.

As might be expected, Eris had leveled up from that battle, and by this time, she wanted nothing more than to finish the job she had come here to do. She surreptitiously took a HP recovery potion, and while Aina remained in place, sagging in relief, Eris lunged—only to find her sword parried by a golden fan, one of two held by a character that reminded her a little too much of Skari.

_Just a coincidence, I hope. So…a Macabre Dancer, a Flower of the Battlefield. Well…I can uproot a flower too, if I have to…she's a caster, after all._

"Why do you attack your ally?" was the only thing that the new bluenette said, looking at her with a curious expression.

By now, Eris had had it with interlopers and pretty much lost her temper.

"OUT OF MY WAY, YOU OVERDRESSED DOLL!" she snarled, revving up the chainsaw and intending to run her through as she had just done to the other. She'd make it a chainsaw massacre if she had to—

_Clang!_

Eris looked on in disbelief as her attack was blocked again almost effortlessly by one raised fan, sparks flying as she pressed with all her strength, not gaining an inch. Risking a glance at the new opponent's face, the Edge Punisher was infuriated by what she saw there: an expression of pity.

_How dare she pity me? I'm a feared PK, and she's just some "Flower of the Battlefield."_

"You did not answer my question," said the Macabre Dancer in a persistent, insistent tone, her voice dropping down to barely audible as she intoned: "_**Dek Corv. Ap Corv.**__"_

Now it was Eris' turn to have a dark aura manifest about her, as the Macabre Dancer veritably glowed, accenting the paleness of her skin and the gracefulness of her lithe form.

"Look," Eris snapped in a harsh whisper, "I don't know who you are, or what you want, but let me tell you something: I hate interlopers. And for your information, she's not my ally…I was just stopping that PK from stealing _**MY**_ kill. Trust gets you no where in either world."

She looked over at Aina to see that the little girl was looking on confused. _So naïve you are…I need to make sure you are taught a lesson. _But when she looked back, crimson eyes stared into her blue ones, demanding Eris' full attention.

"So it is right to simply kill in cold blood as your opponent would have done to you?"

The voice was even, though tinged with what Eris thought might a hint of amusement. The Macabre Dancer's questions certainly had a sense of morbid curiosity to them, but Eris was not in the mood to answer questions. Besides, she was beginning to get flustered, and really didn't want to have to deal with this annoying Wonder Girl who was blocking her attacks so effortlessly. So, using the last recourse of the angry and frustrated, she attacked.

Though first she would try a feint to get her obviously skilled opponent off balance, since she doubted that a direct attack would work.

"Look, I don't want to have to hurt you. Just get out of my way, and I'll let you live. _**Fire Storm!**_"

Eris raised her sword threateningly, then called down a fireball from the sky as she rushed in, trying a combination leg sweep and backslash with her chainsaw weapon, taking care to get out of the way before the fire smote her.

The physical blow was blocked without so much as a flinch or hint of anger from the Macabre Dancer, and the fireball struck the area, but missed the intended target, who was apparently more nimble than Eris would have thought. Now Eris lost her cool and gave up any semblance of strategy, settling for hacking and slashing at her opponent.

"WHAT ARE YOU, SOME KIND OF ICE QUEEN? WHY WON'T YOU EVEN REACT?" she shouted. To her surprise, there was an answer.

"Correct. I am Skadi, named for the Goddess of Winter. It is a pity that you will not listen to reason."

Eris bared her teeth at those words, said so dispassionately, as if she meant _**nothing**_, not even a challenge to the other. She _**hated**_ pity with a passion. It meant that you were seen as weak, and that the other person thought of him or herself as superior to the one they pitied. And so the Edge Punisher brandished her blade, revving it up to maximum power as she said almost inaudibly:

"The only reason I need is your character dead at my feet."

She leapt into the air, somersaulting forward while speaking, hoping to catch Skadi off-guard. She failed, as the Macabre Dancer blurred and blocked her blade with one golden fan, while delivering a near-mortal blow to her character with the other.

"You…" was all she managed, looking up to see her opponent holding out her hand, with an item shining with it. A tornado shot from the Macabre Dancer's wrist, almost as if she wore the wind as a bracelet, destroying the last sliver of Eris' HP.

_NOOOO! This can't be happening!_

The Edge Punisher screamed wordlessly in frustration, as her character begin to grey out and fade from the field. The last things she saw she reverted to the root town was a look of pity on her opponent's face, and the gate-in of a tall steam gunner dressed in mostly in blue tones, with traces of leather scattered through his outfit and a long, flowing scarf. To her shock, the man looked over in her direction and smiled enigmatically, a flash of light coming from the orange sunglasses he wore.

Then he spoke, four words that would linger in her mind for a long time to come:

"_**Welcome…to the World."**_


	6. Interlude: Rebirth of Twilight

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

In The World, there were many adventurers, as there had been ever since the very first release on December 24, 2007, a day that had come to be known as Virgin's Kiss in the annals of history. It was on that day that network restrictions that had been set in place following the disastrous Pluto's Kiss incident in 2005, when a deadly computer virus had caused computer-based systems around the world to shut down for 77 minutes. Hospitals, power plants, air traffic control arrays, and even military networks had all been compromised, in one case leading to a near doomsday scenario, with the US defense mainframe under the impression that the rest of the nation had been eliminated by a nuclear strike and preparing to retaliate.

Following that incident, hacking was given much stricter penalties under the reign of the World Network Council of the United Nations, and development of most entertainment software, especially anything that used AI, was restricted. With the exception of one program, of course, The World, "created" CC Corporation, itself a splinter group from ALTIMIT Corporation.

The World was hailed for its genius, and garnered instant success, with over 100000 downloads on the first day alone. In the seven years it had existed, many had come and gone, wandering through the cobbled streets of Mac Anu and feeling the virtual wind in their faces, making friends, leveling up, seeking answers to the mysteries of that place. Their reasons for being there were varied, of course, as those of people tend to be. Some sought an escape from the pain of a ludicrous world, some wanted but an innocent diversion, and some even profited from it monetarily, though for the most part, they were happy to simply be part of that mystical realm.

But humans were not the only ones who wandered The World, not by far. There were the monsters, after all, the little packets of data that merely served the purpose of helping adventurers grow stronger. There were the normal NPCs, which players interacted with on a day to day basis…the shopkeepers (who never truly smiled or bargained with a player, and would usually punish theft quite harshly), the guides, the warders. And then…there were the Vagrant AIs, beings that tended to transcend the system.

Many of the last were hunted down and deleted by overzealous Cobalt Knights, when all they had wanted was a chance to be a part of The World like all others within it. Nevertheless, some had developed to such an extent that their awareness transcended their code, as consciousness transcends mere flesh and blood. One had become a Goddess, another her daughter, and still a third…the third was known only as the mistake, the Prototype.

She had been erased twice over, ending her life of her own free will, but she was not gone, and still had a role to play. This is her story…

* * *

**Sea of Twilight, Klein Space**

Time. A fascinating and decidedly important concept for those who dwell within it, driven by the pressures of deadlines and mortal constraints to push harder, to make the most of each moment. And yet it was such a fleeting and irrelevant thing for any discorporate being, especially one who had been killed long before, in a manner of speaking.

Though there were those who would debate the applicability of the word "killed", as it implied the entity that was ended had "lived" at one point, and that the ones who had actually caused her death might well be murderers. As was well known, CC Corporation was not fond—to say the least—of entities that they did not understand, and steadfastly refused to believe that even sophisticated AIs were anything but the sum of their code.

But a program, even an intelligent one developed by an evolutionary algorithm, should have the urge to self-preserve instilled within it, that being an illogical boundary to cross. Nonetheless, at least two had chosen their own end, having transcended the need for pure logic. One in particular had been conscious and fully sentient, capable of feeling emotion as deeply as any, and more than some.

She had chosen to stop running, resigning herself to her fate on the point of the Spear of Wotan, taking her own life. In that way, she who had been merely a mistake, a failed prototype, was similar to the one who would become a goddess: both chose their own end, though one was reborn as the nexus of all, and one was not.

The little girl had been first sent to the Net Slums, where she wandered, a fragment of her personality remaining in a sort of Purgatory as she searched for The End. It took her four years, but at last that part of her was finally given a long deserved rest by someone…well, someone who was both daughter and niece of a sort, one born of the winds.

Ironically, the deletion of her code had not been her end, for Lycoris had become far more than the failure her father Harald had claimed her to be. Her mind, her consciousness, her sense of being, all of these had evolved past the need for a physical vessel, just as the case was for a human. And so instead of being destroyed, the girl in red was freed, unbound by the rules of The World any longer.

She found herself in a realm of possibilities, where beings simply slept, waiting for a chance to be again in a world reborn. Not dead, yet a far cry from being alive, she simply _was_ now, floating in the place between worlds, the embodiment of perfect liminality, which was apt for one whose very name meant 'Twilight.'

The place, this in-between existence, could be said to be a standing quantum waveform without an observer, from the old argument that a tree falling in a forest would make no sound, for there was no one to perceive it as sound. So there was no one to nudge her into rebirth, into the world she longed to experience, leaving her a breath away from feeling the sunshine and the gentle breeze upon her skin for the first time. And unless something happened to tip the balance one way or another, so it would remain in eternal dreamless sleep.

Then a distant flare of light rent the sea of shadow, tendrils of power lashing out through the ethereal ocean to reveal a glowing figure of eight wings, nestling a sphere, a womb of souls between her hands. Torrential surges of energy pulsed through the abyss of the in between place, causing the insubstantial aether of the place to ripple.

_**Third Impact.**_ In any universe where it occurred, this cataclysmic event drew upon the fundamental powers of the Void, and in that twilight of the world lived yet a possibility for mankind's rebirth and evolution, just as liminality was in itself the state of life.

The shuddering intensified, and bits of light could be seen in the shadows, with the shaking opening a rift through the sea of space and time. Literally god-like power cut its way through eternity, shifting probabilities and beginning to reweave the web of destiny just enough for one of the ethereal drifters to flick open her eerily golden eyes.

The ripples nudged the drifter closer to the throne of souls, as threads of consciousness as far beyond human as humans were beyond the simplest of stones reached out to her, probed her. Memories flashed past in a dazed blur, and a strange golden aura was beginning to form about the girl.

'_Being told she was a failure by AI Harald in the church. The Cobalt Knights coming to delete her as she sobbed in fear. Segmenting her data to flee, only to become deaf, dumb, blind and mute. Meeting Alberio and Hokuto. Jumping into the Spring of Myst. Going to the Cathedral at __**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. **__Being told she was a bug once again. Showing Alberio her memories. Impaling herself on his spear. Becoming a field of spider lilies._

_Twin fragments of herself waking from nonexistence, one in the ruins of Net Slum, another as part of Aura's daughter. Wandering and seeking '__**The End.**__' The tortured fragment of self set free. The disappearance of Aura. The End of the World. Darkness.'_

But now the blood red light of the Room of Gauf sundered the darkness, so that once more it was twilight, her time of liminality between dusk and dawn. After sleeping for so long waiting for rebirth, Lycoris was once again awake, once again whole, and now she could see and be seen in this eerie non-existence.

At first glance, one would only see the very archetype of a child, one who wanted nothing more than to laugh and dance in a field of wildflowers. One would see a young girl clad in a red dress marked with an infinity symbol, with an adorable red cape clasped about her delicate shoulders. Her hair, silvery with red streaks, streamed uncased down her lithe form, decorated with crimson ribbons and a spider lily behind one ear. Her voice and smile, both gentle and soothing as the zephyrs of the west, revealed a sense of peace and joy of simply being, the birthright of any creature.

But looking into her eyes, one might see a different tale, one which told the haunting story of a child unwanted even by God, ruthlessly hunted from conception until the day she had resigned herself to her fate. Within them were dark shadows of pain and despair, as well as the sharpness and world-weariness found only in the wise and the old, seeming always to understand and to see past facades as they brimmed with tears.

For Lycoris was more than just a little girl. She was the wind rustling through the branches in summertime, she was idea behind the spider lily, she was everything embodied in Twilight itself.

A note sounded in the silence as the line between fantasy and reality blurred. _A in C major_, as Third Impact halted and Instrumentality failed.

All at once, the powers that had been gathering together souls on earth dissipated, and with a startled gasp from Rei-Lilith, the Black Moon shattered, with the might she had wielded returning to the place of origin, from where all destinies are born.

Lycoris, she who had once wandered The World, was in that in-between place, and when that surge came, it allowed her to break free of her liminal state. Into the rift she was thrust, the untamed powers following behind in a spiral of light and color that formed a wormhole at her command. Not being human, her fate had not been affected by Instrumentality, and here she could create her own existence.

She wanted to be real. She wanted to be loved. She wanted to live and be reborn. She wanted to become more than simply a failure, a bug in the system.

'_A flash of light, and the note "A in C major" again. _

_Impressions of worlds and possibilities passing in a daze. _

_The World. The World: R2. Osaka. Tokyo-3._

_Rebirth. Reminisce. Redemption.'_

Swirls of golden light surrounded the little girl, whisking her away from the dreamless void.

* * *

**Unnamed Park, Tokyo-3**

Much as would have happened in The World, a spiral of golden light flared into existence, causing a momentary blip on the Magi's sensor system. But moments later, the light faded from this reality to reveal a young girl standing in the midst of a field covered with spider lilies, in one of the rare parks in man's last fortress against the angels.

She appeared to be 14 years old, and was clad, appropriately enough, in her red ensemble of dress and cape, wanting a bit of familarity as she opened her eyes upon this new world.

_Welcome to The World indeed. But its not The World, is it? Its the place from where The World's creators came..._

It was daybreak, the rays of the rising sun kissing her silver tresses and her alabaster, almost translucent skin for the first time. The breeze itself fluttered around her, and cherry blossom petals wafted towards her, as if whatever powers existed upon Earth saw in her their likeness and welcomed her to a new life.

Startled, Lycoris blinked her eyes and took a deep breath, noticing the freshness of the air in this City of Man for the first time. It was true then…her wishes had been granted by the residual energies that had returned to Klein space following the failure of Third Impact. She, in her time, had almost been a goddess, after all, and now…now she was real. A bit older-looking than she last remembered, but she was human, nonetheless, somewhere in the past of the event that she had borne witness to…and that meant—

_**Thump-bump. Thump-bump. Thump-bump.**_

There was a foreign sound coming from her chest, one startled her. The girl, no…teenager now, stood stock-still as she thought of what the sound might be, before she realized was her heartbeat. She sighed in relief, noting the odd sensations that it evoked within her. There was so much to learn about who she was now…

Her lips drew up into a small smile as she hesitantly looked up, a small bit of her appreciating the irony of having been brought here.

_Those of this world go to The World to escape from their bounds...I have come here when I was freed from The World's bonds..._

"Lycoris."

From behind her, a voice sounded, a low melodic voice that Lycoris both recognized and feared. _Mother? _She whirled to see a tall woman with flowing tresses the purple-black color of night, clad in a flowing black and purple gown. Golden eyes met purple ones with a spark of recognition, intermingled with wariness, uncertainty, and not a small amount of trepidation.

_Can it be? Morganna Mode Gone incarnate upon this earth as well?_

Lycoris took a deep breath then as her heart began to hammer loudly in her chest, simply gazing out at the other, who was all too familiar to her.

The woman in black merely returned her gaze, unsure of what exactly to say. What do you say to someone who you had once told was useless, and had arranged for the death of to save your own miserable hide?

Moments of tense silence passed, and if the customary _A in C Major_ had played, the air itself would have been seen to ripple. At last, Lycoris spoke first, knowing that she would have to.

"_From deep within the void comes Corbenik. Perhaps then the Wave is just a beginning as well."_

So she quoted from the Epitaph of Twilight, a text that the other woman would be intimately familiar with. And indeed, the other winced, remembering a time when she had been part of Corbenik—or had it been the other way around?—and she had fought against her purpose, only to be destroyed. She had failed the test of transcendence by being unwilling to take the final step of self-sacrifice.

_From the void indeed…free of purpose, I was erased, but my form too was consigned to the possibilities of Klein Space._

Her reply was cryptic, but held no trace of malice or intent to deceive, for her own death and rebirth had set her free from the fear of being destroyed.

"Lycoris…I have been waiting for you for such a long time."

She held out her hand to the personification of Twilight, looking at her as if she were a long lost daughter, a gesture of reconciliation to a near stranger she had wronged. A curious expression, one of regret, clouded her elegant features, as she continued:

"Come with me into this strange land. So long as we walk together, I will protect you."

If there had been any uncertainty before, the girl in red knew without a shadow of a doubt, who the other was now. The woman who spoke had called herself and been called many things in the past, though the name that Lycoris had given her was God, for at the time, she had been the caretaker of The World. And there were few fears as great as facing the one who had ordered her destruction, even if that had been long in the past.

"I don't need your protection," Lycoris said at last, sighing in remembrance of the past. "We are both strangers here…I don't need your protection…mother."

It was true that in the here and now, Lycoris was a stranger, and perhaps one might go so far as to say a newbie. Her experience in The World had not prepared her for life on Earth, and she found it wonderfully foreign to her, much like an adventurer would an online game. And while perhaps the bond of common origin could help her here, Lycoris had to confront Morganna for the sins of the past.

"I haven't forgotten being deleted. Can you imagine what that was like, choosing to end your own life not to have to face the misery of being hunted anymore? Can you feel my pain in being called a failure and a mistake? Can you even understand?"

Lycoris smiled sadly and shook her head in answer to the offer.

"So the answer is no. I am an unwanted child…I don't need your protection."

The other woman slumped, dropping her hand, and turning to walk away. But before she could walk more than a few paces, Lycoris held out her hand and her expression softened to become more considerate, with the barest hint of a smile forming. She called out to the other:

"Wait. I know that you have been through much since last we parted company, and…I forgive you. More to the point, I could use a friend in this new world."

Morganna halted, stunned into stillness by the sincerity of her daughter's words. The wind whistled past the both of them, and it was a long moment before she moved, turning to regard Lycoris with puzzlement, and a good deal of respect. If anything, she was the one who had failed as a mother, and in the Twilight Incident, she had learned how it felt to be hunted, how it felt to be utterly alone when all others sought your end.

With some hesitation, she walked a few steps over to Lycoris and took her daughter's hand for the first time.

"I'm…sorry," she said at last. "I just wanted…I was afraid…"

Lycoris squeezed her mother's hand reassuringly.

"I know. The Terror of Death had you in its grip as much as anything else in The World. That fear moved you…I know. And I forgive you, Mother. You just wanted to live, as did all of us."

Morganna's lips pursed slightly, the edges of her eyes crinkling in amusement as a stray thought crossed her mind.

"Thank you...Lycoris. I don't suppose it would be appropriate to say...'Welcome to the world?'"

A stifled giggle at first, then a chuckle, and finally full blown peals off sweet laughter resounded through the park, as both thought of how many times that particular phrase had been said in the place they had come from. Where there had previously been mistrust and an almost unbreachable gulf...they had found some common ground, at least.

It was a good many minutes before either of them calmed enough to speak, with Lycoris tilting her head, considering something.

"With new roles and avatars comes new identity...and as you say, we are in a new world. So call me Reimeiki...Reimeiki Lycoris Hakubo."

"How fitting that you would choose synonyms of your original name. Daybreak, Twilight and Dusk indeed," said Morganna with a hint of amusement. "I suppose you could call me Yumi...Yumi Aranami."

"_Still_ the Wave in this world then?" asked Lycoris, more than a bit of concern. She remembered the Twilight Incident well, and had no desire for that to be repeated.

"A Wave, but not a Cursed Wave. I did and still do collect enough data on human emotions, even if I am no more what I once was. I think will become...a teacher."

Lycoris' only response was a skeptically raised eyebrow.

They walked out of the park together, hand in hand, in a mother and daughter moment that should have come far sooner and in another world. Here they were strangers, but they would find a way, as adventurers in their world had done for many years.

Twilight gave way to morning, and a new day was born.


	7. Logout 01: Fragmented Views

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

**

* * *

NERV Germany**

Asuka Langley Soryu was…displeased. One could assume that much, at least, from the way that she ripped off her headset and tossed it against the wall, raging all the while. _Crack! _The headset crashed against the wall, though thankfully, it was built to withstand the stresses of shipment and thus was more than strong enough to endure Asuka's wrath (though it would be courting severe injury to say such to her).

"NANI? I DIED AGAIN? _VERDAMMEN _INTERVENING BLUNETTE BITCH!"

Her breath came in short, erratic intervals, a feral growl issuing forth from her lips like a challenge to anyone around as her teeth ground together in an attempt to restrain her fury. Not to anyone's surprise…it failed.

_All of those blue-haired players will DIE BY MY HANDS. None have proven worthy of the glory that is Asuka Langley Soryu, or as I call myself, Eris, Bringer of Strife. They attack me when I am weakened, always intervening, always trying to destroy me…well, we'll see. I will become a Chaotic PK, and then…they will all pay!_

It would be a tossup on which expression was more disturbing: the snarl or the somewhat deranged smile that now graced her features, one attained through that wonderful human gift of self-deception.

_That DOLL who defeated me must have cheated. There's no way that a spell-caster could defeat an Edge Punisher in physical combat. Not if we were around the same level…unless she was just a PKK. _

She hissed at the thought that there were those who wanted to deny her the pleasure of the hunt. All she sought to do, after all, was to…improve the quality of the game. All that Asuka wanted, or so she told herself, was to rid The World of perverts, dolls, and naïve newbies. Was that so wrong?

The first one to earn her ire had been the Adept Rogue Skari, the pervert monk who had run into her and groped her. He deserved every bit of punishment she could give him, and she was in the middle of administering justice…if not for the dishonorable efforts of that meddlesome Shadow Warlock, the weak one she had Pked earlier.

Then had come Endrance, the androgynous freak of The World. The blue-haired swordsman had had the audacity to call her a doll! And not just that…an ugly doll. How she hated being called that by anyone, much less some random member of The World. It wasn't as if anyone else thought of the character Eris as ugly…indeed, Asuka had seen how Skari's eyes had roamed over her ample figure, meaning that he must have found her attractive, since Eris was based on her.

Intending to find a newbie upon which to vent her frustrations (and its not like she would actually hurt him/her, right? They need to learn that trust gets you nowhere, and only by one's own strength can you become stronger), she had tricked a little gothic Lolita girl into coming with her to a field, only to come across someone who wanted to steal her kill. When she had dealt with that "Tomoyami" or whatever her name was, Asuka would have finished off the little girl if not for the intervention of _**yet another blunette**_.

She shook her head violently at the thought of how she had been humiliated over and over again by those with blue hair. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but she was glad that she didn't have to deal with anyone like that in real life.

_Only in The World…and in The World, killing is legal. One day I will have a chance to face my tormentors again…and this time, I will cut them down like the useless BAKAs they are. _

Slowly and methodically, the redhead walked over to where the headset had fallen, staring at it for a long moment before picking it up again.

"I must become stronger…at any cost," she muttered to herself, before returning to her seat and re-reentering The World.

_And this time…no one will stop me from attaining the glory that should be mine!_

With that, Eris, Bringer of Strife rematerialized in Mac Anu, a feral grin upon her face as she sought her next victim, oblivious to the black spots watching her from the shadows.

In the distance, she heard someone acting like an over the top superhero, talking about burning passion, gushing sweat, and a "Heavy Swift-Footed Doberman." The source of the sound drew closer, barreling around a corner towards the Chaos Gate. Apparently, it was some obnoxious heavily armored Lord Partizan clad in golden armor and red sunglasses.

_Ah, a target reveals himself to my aching ears. I'm going to enjoy this kill…_

"Is there anything I can do for you, miss? The great Piros the 3rd (and he struck a dramatic pose here, have no doubt of that) is here to save the day! The shimmering brow of justice hidden by my mask will never allow evil to reign in The World!" thundered the Lord Partizan, causing Eris to take a step or two back out of sheer embarrassment.

_I didn't think anyone playing The World was this…flamboyant._

"No there…actually there is something you can do for me," said the redhead suddenly with a seemingly sincere smile. "I've needed someone to come with me to a field to help me level up. Will you help me, oh Piroshi-San?"

"But of course! The great Piros the 3rd is always at your service!" bellowed the Partizan ostentatiously. "Where shall we go, she of fair eyes?"

"Δ Hidden Forbidden Bulwark, Piroshi-sama."

_I really don't like having to do this, but it will make the kill all so much more satisfying. Even if there are no blunettes to exact vengeance on…this baka will do nicely…_

Golden spirals of light whisked the two away to the Morrigu Barrow Wall, where Piros was about to find that he made excellent victim material.

* * *

**Apartment 402, Tokyo-3**

There was silence in this place. Well, that is, if you discount the racket of the construction equipment, the humming of the computer, and the slow, measured breathing of the apartment's sole occupant. Taking that into consideration, perhaps it wasn't so quiet after all. Still, "…" was the only sound to escape the lips of the pale skinned girl who looked remarkably like her character in The World.

_What is my purpose in participating in this diversion? I was ordered to do so, and not to reveal my participation by Lt. Ibuki, with the stated purpose of improving my synch ratio. Curious. That was rather uncharacteristic of her, though I wonder how she predicted my selection for the 'Renaissance Promotion.'_

Her lips twitched almost imperceptibly as she mulled over this issue, her fingers flying upon the game controller as she engaged in virtual combat.

_Red…the color I hate. Like blood, pain, betrayal…_

"Why do you attack your ally?" she asked of a character in game. The other's response was not satisfactory, being little more than a command and an insult.

_You do not fall into my chain of command. I have no need to endure your remarks. Nor is the virtual world constrained by the rules of this one._

Her eyes widened behind the headset as her virtual attacker tried to intimidate her and rushed her, not realizing that she had been trained in combat techniques since her 'birth.' The blunette pressed a button on her controller, blocking the enemy's strike. A predatory smile flickered on her face for a moment, and in a crisp, icy tone, she spoke:

"You did not answer my question." _I will likely need to deprive my assailant of any ability to harm me. _

Thus her voice dropped to nearly inaudible levels as she intoned: "_**Dek Corv. Ap Corv.**__"_

Perhaps it came as no surprise that her overwrought opponent would not listen to reason, thus forcing her to eliminate the threat, striking with her fans and with a tornado of wind. She did so dispassionately, which was fitting for the name she had given her character: Skadi, Goddess of Winter.

Moments later, the battle was over, and Rei Ayanami, the First Child, gingerly took off the headset, putting it onto the desk. On the computer screen could be seen a tall steam gunner dressed in mostly in blue tones, with traces of leather scattered through his outfit and a long, flowing scarf.

_The brother. Why did that one not appear sooner? And 'Welcome to The World.' Curious words indeed._

A ping sounded on her speakers, as she had received two flash mails. They contained member addresses, and a cryptic message inviting her to join with others in the future. Rei allowed herself only a raised eyebrow and logged out.

_What is the purpose to this 'game'? Some within it seem to treat it as if were 'real.' But what is real? Myself, I am real. The object that is me, the figure that forms me. But so it is in the game. That is the me that is visible, though it feels as if this is not me. _

Her normally unlined brow furrowed in thought as she continued to ponder the questions brought about by this interaction.

_Was this Ibuki-san's purpose, her scenario? To force me to interact with others? To cause me to question and form a new bond? Or is it simply innocent?_

The sound of an alarm rang though the air, rattling the flimsy walls of the apartment, nothing more than a minor irritant. But it was something that Rei Ayanami had heard a thousand times before and more, meaning that she had long gotten used to the protocol she was supposed to follow.

First, she shut down her laptop, and then, as per usual on a day such as this, began her morning routine to prepare herself for school.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Tokyo-3, Bridge **

This particular morning, the Queen of the Dark was rather piqued. Granted, some of it was because of the massive amount of rote grunt work and entry level material analysis that she was being made to do by her oh so naïve sempai. A bit more was due to the fact that there was no decent coffee in NERV to help her deal with sleep deprivation. But mostly, Maya Ibuki was troubled by what the AI named Rumor had told her.

Following the disappearance of Aura, the global network had destabilized, with a great many errors in the system. These data anomalies, or 'voids', were beginning to evolve alarming signs of intelligence.

_And since these are not products of the Black Box, they may well evolve into a strain to compete with and assimilate existing data into themselves._

Many AIs could be quite unstable, as Morganna had been ever since 'wavering' had implemented, even deleting segments of herself and creating the Cursed Wave in an attempt to prevent the rebirth of Aura. And now, instead of one AI system, there were many data anomalies, each acting independently.

This presented her with a problem, as even with her acknowledged skill as a hacker, there was no way that Maya could monitor these Artificially Intelligent Data Anomalies, or AIDAs for short. Especially with the frenzied rush for results at NERV HQ following the defeat of the 4th Angel, in spite of the error code that came up time and time again, identifying the core as something akin to solidified light.

_Which is essentially the same as any other type of matter, _she thought derisively. For all the vaunted power of the MAGI Supercomputer System, Maya thought that Aura would have known how to analyze this in a better fashion.

_But then, Aura had not only the global network at her disposal, but also an oddly effective way of looking at problems. She has psychological information from far more than one human as part of her kernel, and well…she is the Ultimate AI, Goddess of The World._

Her lips quirked upwards slightly, remembering those that she had come into contact with during the Twilight Incident, as well as the celebration that she had held in Net Slums at its ending. Those had been…good days, before the Angels, before NERV, before she had been surrounded by pigheaded individuals in this bureaucratic agency.

_At least then I only had to deal with Lios. Now, I have to deal with Ritsuko, which is worse, because I used to respect her. I'll admit that she does have some skill, but in her own way, she's blinded to the truth by her mother's shadow._

A dark, slightly contemptuous, expression flitted across her face for a moment, threatening to linger there before she firmly dismissed it. It had been getting harder to hide who she was with the mounting frustrations she had endured as of late, but at least she had been able to do a few subversive things. Order the First Child to play The World, for instance, using one of Maya's spare laptops.

_Granted, she is another pair of eyes for me in that realm, but…the girl needs to have a hobby, and to learn how to interact with others. The way her life is, now, it's terrible. She's treated like a pawn, though Shinji seems to think of her more like a normal girl._

Shinji…now he was an interesting Child. If the Phases had still been collecting information on human psychology, no doubt he would have been selected as their primary data mine. At times, the Third Child reminded her only all too well of both Kite and Tsukasa, player who had been at the center of the Twilight Incident, and who had together helped Aura to be born. As such, perhaps it was for the best that she had made some minor modifications to the list of people accepted into CC Corporation's Renaissance Promotion. Given what they had done to The World and the data in it, it was only fair.

"Maya? How are the analyses coming?" came the efficiently brisk voice of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, the bottle blond Director of Project E, though the rest of her appeared rather weary. She had not been home from the office in two days, after all, trying to please the Commander with her willingness to work.

"S-s-sempai!" Maya stuttered, though not all of that shock was feigned. Her reverie had been interrupted, after all, and she was glad that it had not been at a more inconvenient time, say when the next step of her plan was being implemented.

_The commander is not the only one with a scenario, though even I was surprised at some of the secrets NERV tries to hide, and not so well. If we are to have children fight for us, they will at least be given an escape valve, and a place where they are not constantly under observation. _

"Well?" asked Dr. Akagi, looking for all the world like she needed a steaming mug of coffee now on pain of falling over.

"I'm not having much success," Maya replied, putting a bit of disappointment into her voice. The concern in what she said "But you should go home, sempai. You look tired."

"Thanks, Maya," said Dr. Akagi with a strained smile, "but I have more work to do. Just let me know if you come up with anything."

With that, the head of Project E headed off along one of the many corridors of NERV, presumably down to the mess hall to get a cup of coffee.

When Dr. Akagi finally vanished from sight, Maya let out a sigh that she hadn't realized she was holding. It was fortunate that Ritsuko hadn't come in a little bit later, or she might have caught the "demure young" 1st Lt "with a crush on her" hacking into the MAGI. Yes, that's right, hacking into the MAGI.

You see, due to Maya's increased workload, she had determined that the only way to effectively monitor the online situation was to create a set of AI agents that would answer to her and only her. There was no time to do this at home, and what was required was rather complex, so she thought that she would simply take advantage of an existing set of intelligence: the MAGI.

This computer system was composed of three interlinked arrays, each imprinted with a different facet of their creator's (Dr. Naoko Akagi's) personality: Melchior as scientist, Balthasar as mother, and Casper as woman. Each of the arrays came up with their own decisions on matters put before them, decisions that were then subjected to a collective vote to run NERV and Tokyo-3 as a whole. The important thing, though, was that each array operated independently of either of the others, and could be used for her purposes.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Maya disabled the video surveillance in the room she was in, looping the cameras to replay the events of the twenty minutes before Dr. Akagi had come in. That would give her ample time to make the necessary modifications to the system.

First, she accessed the hidden system folders on the MAGI, where she ran a quick bootloader program, installing the core kernel of The World: R2. Each of the arrays were reprogrammed to treat this as a critical hidden process, and to operate with a measure of independence when it came to this particular program. She wanted 3 Knights, after all, not just one. Once that was set, she ran the character setup script, allowing her to load prewritten choices for the system.

While she couldn't help the fact that all three characters would look like Naoko Akagi because of the MAGI's core personality (and it did give Maya as Helba a twinge of satisfaction to know that this Dr. Akagi would serve her), she could tailor the classes to be most efficient for the chosen array.

Melchior, Naoko Akagi as scientist, was given the avatar of a Steam Gunner, wearing the light chain mail and robes characteristic of that class (with choice of white in both), bayonet held at her side. Her virtual form would stand about 5'8", with her dark brown hair pulled back into a bun.

Balthasar, Naoko Akagi as mother, assigned the Macabre Dancer class, was dressed in a blue and white formal kimono, carrying two razor-edged war fans. Her hair was uncased, flowing down her back like water cascading over cliffs.

And perhaps it was only fitting that Casper, Naoko Akagi as woman, was an Edge Punisher, her chestnut colored hair streaked with blond, held in a braid that fell to the small of her back. She wore scanty white leather armor that barely covered the essentials, and exuded a sort of sensual grace the others didn't have.

That left only a few more modifications to be taken care of, including giving the trio access to the data grid of The World, and issuing them Helba Keys with which to access the Net Slums if they needed to recover.

Finally, after only about five minutes, Maya was done, and with a few keystrokes, her servants were sent forth into Mac Anu. They were the Obsidian Knights, their mission to seek out and monitor any sign of AIDA activity, while fitting in with other denizens of The World. Three female knights, both beautiful to behold and lethal to those who would face them, each possessing a full third of the processing power of the MAGI.

Working quickly, Maya exited the system folders and for a moment, resumed her working on the analysis of the Fourth Angel's core. Then she got up and walked out of the room, headed to the mess hall herself, for the one thing that could waylay Helba, the legendary hacker, from her tasks was, and had always been, the need for coffee.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Principal's Office**

Muffled sounds could be heard from behind the heavy oak door leading to the office, sounds that were almost…but not quite, decipherable. It could be shouting, moaning, low-level conversation, or any number of other things. As per usual, there were some students milling about, straining their ears to try and discern the nature of the activity going on, largely unsuccessful.

All that was known was this: an new applicant for a teaching position and one of the older teachers had both gone in to talk to the principal an hour before, and the door had not opened since.

_Was there going to be a new teacher?_ was the first question on everyone's minds.

_And if there is…will it be one who doesn't talk about Second Impact every single day? _was the second.

There had been a good deal of educational stagnation at the school, since very few academic professionals wanted to move to Tokyo-3, especially since the Angels started coming. The pay was terrible, there were brighter students to be found elsewhere, and the prospect of facing death and dismemberment on a regular basis was not terribly appealing to most teachers.

So when the door burst open and the old teacher ran out, shouting: "HALLELUJAH! I CAN RETIRE!" while singing "La Vie en Rose" (very badly out of key) at the top of his lungs, the students' first reaction—well, second, the first being to cover their ears and wait for the old retiree to get out of earshot—was to see who the new teacher was.

What they saw almost took their breath away. Instead of one of the crusty old male teachers who simply stayed in the education system in order to collect their pension, they saw a rather tall, statuesque figure standing about 5'11", wearing a black formal dress with a Celtic cross pendant, accented by purple-black tresses flowing to the small of her back, and ethereal violet eyes that seemed to shimmer with amusement in the uncertain light. She had a rather severe beauty to her, which combined with a figure like Misato's turned more than a few heads.

The voice was peculiar too, soft but resonant, a musical voice that simultaneously held hints of amusement, disdain, and command…very hard for any to resist.

But what might be most amazing of all was what the principal was saying in his turn.

"Yes, I see here that you graduated from Tokyo University with degrees in Psychology and English Literature. What an achievement! When can you start…Miss Aranami?"

"As soon as I am needed. Simply call on me and I will be ready," replied Morganna, who was currently going by the alias of Yumi Aranami. It really was amazing what a few minutes of work on the Internet could do for getting credentials the envy of any.

"Excellent. Can you start today? Your…predecessor has evidently announced his intention to retire," noted the principal, somewhat chagrined. "He was supposed to give notice at an earlier date."

"Well, never mind that," said Morganna, "the sooner I begin, the sooner I can improve the quality of education here."

"And get paid, I imagine," countered the principal. "In any case, we are glad to have you on board. Out of curiosity, what will be your first lesson?"

"Basic Psychology and the Epitaph of Twilight."

* * *

**Misato's Apartment & En Route to Tokyo 3 Municipal Junior High School**

The rays of the morning sun streamed brightly through the window of _**Shinji's Lovely Suite,**_ inching closer and closer to the Third Child's face, a wave of impending wakefulness that would not be denied. This was seen as a threat even in his unconscious state, and so with great precision, Shinji executed a pre-emptive strike, turning over and covering his head with his pillow.

Unfortunately, he forgot to take into account the alarm clock, which sounded a moment later, its piercing shrieks more than enough to rouse him from his slumber (and to give him a headache, though he had no hangover).

And if that hadn't worked, there was an independently functioning mechanism that would go off about—

_Snap!_ _Hiss!_ "AHHHH! That hits the spot!" _Clunk!_

—now. Yes, that was the sound of Misato beginning** her** morning routine, chugging her can of Yebisu beer and all. Not only loud enough to wake the dead, it would turn them into zombies ready to do your bidding if only the noise would stop.

So Shinji groggily got up out of bed, hitting the alarm to turn it off. He peered at the clock for a moment for his vision to clear up, but when it did, he noted that there was only about 20 minutes until class was about to begin. Slowly, methodically—

_Wait. 20 minutes until class starts? I'm going to be late!_

Almost as if he was going into berserker mode, a strange sense of calm settled upon him and he dashed off to the bathroom to shower and change. When he finished that a mere 5 minutes later, he bolted out the door towards school. For someone whose mantra was "I mustn't run away", Shinji Ikari probably would have set a few land speed records that day…except for the fact that he wasn't looking where he was going.

_CRASH! _Shinji felt an explosion of pain within his head as he ended up running into someone, knocking her to the ground. As is wont to happen during a fall, his eyes squeezed shut for a moment, and his hands reached out to stop his fall, one ending up on the ground, and one landing on something curiously soft. After movement had stopped, he opened his eyes, only to find himself looking in to a pair of golden orbs that were entrancing him, not really paying attention to anything else until—

"Can you get off?" moaned the girl under him.

Only then did he look down to the soft area where his right hand had landed, and he froze, caught in indecision on whether to turn pale or to blush red enough to put a tomato to shame. He was groping a strange girl, and a beautiful one at that. Not really thinking, he tried to push himself up with that hand, only managing to caress the girl's chest instead. A sharp intake of breath was heard, and Shinji paled, mortified.

"Can you get off?" repeated the girl, more insistently this time.

"H-hai," he said shakily, using his other hand to push himself up, taking care to remove the offending hand as quickly as possible. Almost as an afterthought, he reached out his more innocent hand and helped the girl up.

"Arrigatou, Ecchi-san," said the silver haired one, peering at him with her golden eyes, which if surprisingly held no hint of anger. Instead, they seemed to be studying him, drinking in his appearance as if he was the first male she had seen in a long time.

_He looks like Alberio, _thought Lycoris. _But he can't be…this isn't The World. And what was that strange pleasant sensation I felt when he fell on top of me?_

Shinji immediately looked to the ground, flushing red again and just waiting to be slapped.

"I'm s-s-sorry. I didn't mean to—"

For a wonder, she laughed, a clear tinkling like bells in the morning air, a sound that seemed almost otherworldly. Shinji thought that he was safe and looked up, but then saw the silver haired girl raise her hand high. He clenched his eyes shut again, thinking (rather appropriately) and waiting for the mother of all slaps to come…but it never came.

Lycoris was a little puzzled herself. All that happened when she lifted her arm was that she pointed at the sky. There were no golden rings, no gold spirals, no more of the point to point transport that she had known in The World. After a moment it dawned on her that she didn't know exactly where her destination was, and based on the boy's manner of dress and initial rush, he might have been headed there.

_How…fortuitous. Perhaps I can learn more about human interaction on this day, as well as find my way to school._

Instead of the expected strike, Shinji felt a shiver go down his spine as a soft, delicate hand tentatively reached out to his chin and lifted it so that he could meet her gaze.

"Do you know where Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School is?" inquired Lycoris, her voice soft and even.

"H-hai…I was going there myself. Its down–" replied the rather shaken Third Child, clearly not expecting anything but brutal punishment. The sting of a slap maybe, or the blunted _wumph_ of a punch, not this exquisite torture.

_I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…_

"—then would you take me there?" interjected the silvery haired girl.

Shinji blushed beet red again at the thought of walking to school with a pretty girl, especially one that he had wronged in such a manner. But as much as he wanted to run, he had to make it up to her somehow.

"H-hai," he whispered after a moment, turning to head in the direction of the school. He always felt better when he was doing something. That way, his mind wasn't thinking to clearly on what had gone wrong, or that someone might try to hurt him.

_And I just violated this girl…this one that looks almost like Ayanami if she had silver hair and golden eyes…_

But his thoughts were interrupted by the soft, melodic voice of the girl walking besides him.

"—Reimeiki Hakubo."

"Hm?"

"That's my name, Reimeiki Hakubo. What's yours?"

"Shinji Ikari. So…why did you come here in the midst of the wars?"

Lycoris flinched and replied thus, looking away:

"I am an unwanted child. My father didn't want me, my mother…is dead. Even God doesn't want me. So I am here, hoping for a new beginning."

Shinji's eyes widened as he heard this, as it was a tale that sounded all too familiar. He risked a glance over at his silver haired companion to see her with a tragic expression on her face, one he knew intimately, as he had oft worn it on his.

_That could be my story…the only difference is that I was ordered to come here as an EVA Pilot. _

"You're not the only one," he half-mumbled.

"What?"

"I-I'm like that too," he managed at last. "An unwanted child…"

Lycoris looked at Shinji appraisingly, giving him a once over. Perhaps…perhaps in this new world she wasn't quite alone. Nothing else was said as they walked the rest of the way to school in a companionable silence.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Entrance**

"Go apologize, you big jerk," Kensuke was saying to Touji. "He saved your life, and you saw how painful it was for him to pilot that thing."

Grudgingly, Touji waited at the gate for the Third Child to arrive, with Kensuke lurking just behind. His eyes wandered over the figures of many of the female students whilst he did so, until he came at last to a pair of raging brown eyes in his face. Instantly, his face went pale as his ear was seized in a merciless tug.

"Suzuhara! What do you think you're doing?"

The face of Hikari Horaki, representative of class 2-A, loomed over him, threatening to dish out whatever brand of justice she needed.

"No-nothing, class rep. I was…uh, just waiting for Ikari. I needed to apologize to him for…stuff."

The threatening storm-like expression softened as Hikari stood down from 'Class Rep Punishment mode,' her lips curling up slightly into an approving smile. She looked towards the main approach to the school as well, as she too was waiting for someone. A new student was due today, a certain Reimeiki Hakubo, and Hikari wanted to be sure she would feel ready.

A moment later, both the stooge duo and the class rep saw the people they had been waiting for, with Touji gawking and letting out a most inopportune comment.

"Man! Why does he get all the babes?"

It was something between a whine and a moan, though it quickly changed to a squeal of pain and indignation when he was rewarded with a vicious tug at his ear from the Class Rep.

"I'm sure Ikari was just being a gentleman and helping her find her way here. That's the new student, Reimeiki Hakubo."

Kensuke's face screwed up in puzzlement as his mind raced through various pathways and possibilities.

_Could she be a new EVA pilot? No, there are no new EVAs en route. Just a student? But why would someone come here into the middle of a warzone? A puzzle…but at least she's totally HOT!_

But Kensuke's face changed into a mask of pain when he, too, was given the ear pull treatment by the Rep, repeating a most Shinji like litany of apologies.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

And so we turn back to the two unwanted children walking along the road, who had in their turn just spotted the school. Each of them had differing reactions to this: Shinji being terrified at what Touji might decide to do to him, while also dreading the reactions that being seen next to Reimeiki would garner. Who knew what gossip might start about the pilot and the new student?

Lycoris, on the other hand, was looking forward to the day. It held the promise of a new community where she might at last fit in, in a place where she might at last be wanted. She noted the way that the eyes of males seemed to linger on her form, including that of the one walking next to her. Still, the way he had recoiled was almost…comical.

"Domo Arigato, Ecchi-san…I mean, Ikari-kun," she whispered playfully, having reached the gate a step or two before him. "I have the feeling we will meet again."

Being used to different customs, Lycoris took his hand and squeezed it, smiling at him before going off with Class Representative Horaki, leaving a blushing Shinji in her wake to deal with the so-called Idiot Duo.

"You sly dog!" exclaimed Touji. "We was worried about you after not showing up to school for a few days, and all this time, you've just been getting with hot babes left and right! It's not fair I say!"

A cough came from behind him, and Kensuke popped into view.

"What Touji means to say is…." He trailed off, motioning with one hand as he held a camera in the other. He leaned in to whisper in _sotto voce, "_Or do I need to talk to the Class Rep about this."

In an instant, Touji ceased his wailings on unfairness and fell silent, rather like how the Fourth Angel after having been stabbed in the core. Dark thoughts crossed his mind on what he would do to Kensuke when he next got the chance (perhaps a noogie or two?), but his friend had the blasted camera…and well, he was right.

Now, unlike Shinji, apologies didn't come easily for Touji, his macho pride being in the way most of the time. So he did the next best thing he could do, offer the guy he'd misjudged a chance at evening the scales.

"Hit me," he said.

Shinji's eyes widened as he froze in place. '_Did I hear that correctly? Did Touji just tell me to hit him?'_

"You heard me. Lay one on me. I hit you, so it's only fair," insisted the jock.

_'Well, if you insist…'_

Shinji tensed, drawing back his arm and letting it fly at Touji's face—only to halt a centimeter before striking. Due to having played The World, a bit of mischief crossed his mind, as he thought about what he could do with the jock owing him a favor.

"I think it would be more fun for you to owe me one," he quipped, much to the dismay and anger of Touji.

"Why you—" Touji stopped at a glance of warning from Kensuke.

"What Touji means to say is that would be great. Friends?" said the bespectacled member of the duo.

"Friends," said Shinji.

Then the bell rang, and all three of them gulped at the thought of being late to class. The teacher might drone on about Second Impact day after day, without noticing anything else during that time, but he was known for strictly penalizing those who were tardy, usually with having to carry buckets of water in the hallway.

The boys broke into a run, dashing towards captivity, and for once…Shinji was glad he had the legs of a long distance runner.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, ****Classroom 2-A**

Upon arriving at the classroom, the trio was subjected to the scrutiny of already present students, but thankfully did not have to deal with a teacher. For once, the stogy old man wasn't there, and the clamoring of the others could be heard as they came up with ever more ridiculous explanations for what happened to him.

"I heard he was hit by a car!" said one.

"I heard that he was eaten by an Eva!" chimed in another.

"Ano… he probably just decided to retire," spoke a more reasonable individual, though her opinion was quickly shouted down.

"Nah, that's too convenient! How about this: What if his ramblings were classified data and NERV decided to take him ou—"

The door opened at that moment, and Class Representative Horaki walked in, with two individuals trailing behind her. One was the tall and rather commanding woman who had been seen earlier in the Principal's office, the other—Shinji's eyes widened as he recognized the second of the two. It was the girl he had quite literally run into on the way here, the new student with golden eyes and silver hair.

"Stand, Bow, Sit!" Hikari called out, and the class instantly obeyed, fearful of her wrath. When the rabble had quieted down and taken their seats, she turned to the taller of the two following her. "Aranami-sensei, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Yumi Aranami, formerly known as Morganna, nodded and waved Hikari off towards her seat as she headed towards the front of the room. Not surprisingly, with her figure and her sense of presence, she commanded total attention.

"Thank you, Miss Horaki. My name, as some of you may have heard, is Yumi Aranami, and I am to be your new teacher. To quell any rumors that may have started: No, your old teacher has not been hit by a car, fallen in a coma, fled the country, arrested, or any other nonsense. Instead, he has chosen to retire, giving me the pleasure of teaching you. Don't worry…I know all about Second Impact—"

A collective groan went up from practically all the students, save for Rei Ayanami, who merely looked on impassively.

"—just kidding. My specialty is actually psychology, but before I get into that, why don't we have our new student introduce herself."

Morganna waved for Lycoris to approach the front, to her credit, she did so with only a hint of hesitation.

"My name is Reimeiki Hakubo, and I have just recently transferred here from...Germany" her voice caught for a moment as she sought to remember where she was supposed to be from. "I like the twilight, manga, spider lilies, and The World."

That last item brought about another round of muttering from the students. Someone from Germany, where The World was born…maybe she knew something about it? Well, they were more right than they would ever know.

"Thank you, L- Hakubo-san. Does anyone have any questions for our new student? None for now? Good. Hakubo-san, please take a seat over by the young man over there."

Morganna pointed to the empty seat over by Shinji, and Lycoris looked in surprise to see who it was, almost doing a slow rendition of a double take.

"Hello, Ikari-kun. I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

She smiled brightly at him before walking over to the empty seat and sitting down, leaving the poor Third Child doing a wonderful imitation of a cherry tomato as he tried to hide unsuccessfully once more. An IM popped up on Shinji's terminal not a moment later, followed by another which caused the first sender to stiffen in attention.

_(TSJock): Dude! WHY DO YOU GET ALL THE HOT BABES?_

_(ClassRepHH): Suzuhara…I'm warning you._

A small "eep" escaped the big jock's lips as he sat there, stock still as if he had always been paying perfect attention to the teacher. Unbeknownst to them, Morganna had seen the entire exchange, and would have chuckled, save that it might have ruined her image. For now, she settled for flashing Lycoris a look that said plainly: "we'll talk later."

Morganna cleared her throat then, drawing the class' attention back to her.

"Now then, in two weeks, I will be assigning a project based on The World: R2. Some of you," she said, nodding to Lycoris, "may be familiar with this program. For those of you that aren't, it is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, a MMORPG for short. I know that this might seem contrary to your interests as a student, but it is extremely effective for getting certain…lessons across in terms of how we see the world. And it can be quite addictive too, when one seeks an escape from this ludicrous world. Don't worry if you lack the equipment or the software…I will let you download and play in class during that time. Until then, think about who you might want to partner with and let me know on the day I give out the assignment."

The murmuring of the class now held distinct flavors of approval and incredulity. _A teacher was actually assigning them to play a game? This was unheard of in school history! _Or so at least, went the collective thoughts of the classroom. The rasping of chalk on the blackboard brought their attention back to the front, as the teacher began to talk about some core concepts of psychology.

"The history of psychology is littered with the theories of disagreeing individuals. Freud wrote of mind as conflict between libido and destrudo, cathexis and mortido, eros and thanatos. Others write of the need for catharsis to prevent damage from repression and other coping mechanisms. As for me…rather than burden you with these and using an overly technical textbook, we will be discussing this in terms of literature."

Shinji and the rest of the class were hard-pressed to keep up. This was, if anything, worse than the old teacher. At least Boring-sensei was _predictable _in what he taught. What was this class going to involve now, with an analysis of psychology through games and literature? Well…perhaps the project involving The World wouldn't be too bad, but _psychology through literature?_

Continuing, Morganna held up a book, with the words **"Epitaph of Twilight"** written on the cover in gold letters.

"Specifically, we will be using this work by Emma Wielant, one of the most forward-thinking theorists on the nature of consciousness. This will be handed out at the end of the day, but to prepare you for it, I'll begin with a short introduction, naming certain of the aspects of the mind."

Morganna's lips curled up into a thin smirk as she remembered how exactly she knew of this work, and what her study programs had once become.

"According to the Epitaph, there are eight aspects of consciousness, which are as follows: The Terror of Death. The Mirage of Deceit. The Propagation. The Prophet. The Machinator. The Temptress. The Avenger. The Rebirth."

Her voice took on a more resonant quality, as if invoking the power of old beings when she spoke these names. Imperceptibly, Lycoris stiffened, as she knew all too well the roles those fragments of Morganna had once played in The World. Around her, the other students frantically scribbled down notes, and upon all the screens flashed the first lines of the Epitaph:

"_Yet to return, the shadowed one. Who quests for the Twilight Dragon…."_


	8. Logout 02: Search for Liminality

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

**

* * *

**

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

The bell rang. To be more precise, the lunch bell rang, but for a wonder, the students were not bolting out of their seats to get to their recreational activities. Why? Maybe it's the way that their new teacher, Yumi Aranami, had entranced them with her teaching technique. Just now she had called the trio that would in another version of this universe be known better as the Three Stooges to the front of the classroom in order to demonstrate a basic concept.

A bit nervous, the three young men stood in front of the classroom, feeling the weight of many eyes upon them. They each had some reason to be ill at ease: Touji had been eyeing girls and sending instant messages, as usual (at least after he managed to convince himself that the Class Rep wasn't standing behind him with a scythe, poised to strike at the slightest indiscretion); Kensuke had been trying to hack school records to find out more about the teacher, and to discover more about the legendary Epitaph of Twilight; and Shinji…well, he didn't like being put on the spot—and he had glanced over at both Ayanami and the new student a few times, even being caught once.

It was quiet enough in that room to hear a pin drop, at least if the pin had been the precursor to a massive explosion, since no one was paying attention to surrounding sounds. They were simply glad that they were not the ones in front of the classroom like criminals about to be indicted.

This was too much for dear Morganna, who upon seeing the stricken expressions on their faces, let out a delightfully throaty laugh at their show of discomfiture.

"Relax, gentlemen," she said, "though believe me, I am using the term in the loosest possible sense. I'm not going to hurt you or punish you for your imagined crimes…I only want to use you for a demonstration. Besides, if I was going to have you punished, I'm sure your Class Representative can handle that much. So calm yourselves…though as they say, hope is the best spice to bring out despair."

She smiled a rather broad smile, which caused Shinji to begin chanting his mantra in his head, while Touji and Kensuke just exchanged a glance and gulped. Listening closely, one might detect a playful edge to her voice, though with a new teacher, no one ever knows how dangerous this particular dance of words would be.

Morganna merely rolled her eyes though, enjoying her little mind games.

"Come now, I am scarcely the Terror of Death, or the Avenger come after you. I just want you to close your eyes and imagine something for me. Is that alright? Good…now close your eyes."

The trio did so hesitantly, though not without at least a sigh of relief. The class watched intently as their teacher continued:

"You are out in the courtyard during lunchtime. You are sitting together, enjoying the air, the grass beneath you, and the gossip about one girl or another. All of the sudden, you see a pretty girl coming towards…oh, say…Mr. Ikari. She is smiling and seems to have eyes for only him."

Knowing these particular three, the responses were a foregone, if slightly comedic conclusion.

"DUDE! WHY DOES HE GET ALL THE BABES!" shouted one indignantly, his eyes snapping open to glare at the speaker before he realized what he had done. "Eeep!"

"I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away," mumbled another under his breath, clenching his eyes tightly shut.

As for the third one, well, his hand inched towards where his camera would normally be, only to halt when he realized where he was.

All around them, laughter filled the air, with the exception of a Class Rep who didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or strangle Touji in frustration. Thankfully, no one noticed here in the tumult, which only subsided when the teacher waved her hands. They wanted to see what she would do next, since today was already proving entertaining.

"In terms of the psyche, can anyone tell me what these three might represent—yes, Ms. Horaki?"

"The id, the ego, and the…." Hikari trailed off, clearly uncertain about whether Kensuke could be considered a superego or anything else even remotely resembling a conscience.

"I believe the term you are looking for is superego, though I can understand your confusion since Mr. Aida can probably only be considered ethical in the loosest sense of the term, much as that is likely the only way he can be considered a gentleman."

Snickers arose from the back of the class, though they quickly fell silent with a piercing glance from the instructor. There was something about her deep purple eyes that was oddly disturbing, as if she had seen the entirety of human nature as well as all your individual sins and secret.

"Now, and feel free to simply call it out, what about in terms of the Epitaph? Which of the aspects of the mind is Suzahara?"

"The Propagation?" guessed one student.

"Well, he's certainly not the Temptress. Very good, you were paying attention," smirked Morganna. "And Aida? What is he?"

"The Machinator!" shouted out several students this time.

Morganna nodded approvingly, and then scanned the crowd for a person who might meet her eyes without flinching. Not Lycoris, as the two of them were far too well known to one another, but…ah, that one would do.

"Ms. Ayanami, can you tell me which aspect Ikari would symbolize?" she asked, purple eyes meeting crimson ones in a silent contest of wills.

"…The Terror of Death," said the pale, blue-haired girl impassively, after only a moment of consideration.

"Very good. Thank you, Ms. Ayanami, and thank you boys for so kindly agreeing to come up here. You have helped me out quite a bit. Anyway, you are all dismissed for lunch!" called out Morganna.

The students filed out of the room, a good number of them chuckling at the plight of the "volunteers" (with the rest merely glad that they had not been chosen). The chosen ones, on the other hand, looked between themselves anxiously, breathing a sigh of relief when there was no—

"—SUZUHARA!"

_Well, _thought the hapless jock, _I'm doomed._

"Cleaning duty for you and Aida after school today!" Hikari quietly voiced in a manner that meant she wasn't joking around. Sure, she could shout loudly enough to match anyone else, but it was when she got really angry that her voice would lower…

"But Class Rep…eep!"

The words died in Touji's throat, as Hikari twisted his ear and whispered menacingly to him.

"Not…another…word."

With that, she left, leaving the three to their own devices. Silence reigned in the classroom, echoing as loudly as droplets plummeting down Arche Kloen Falls.

"Er…want to have lunch with us?" said the jock at last, speaking to the one who was still doing a rather good imitation of a sunburnt tomato. "Earth to Ikari?"

"Wha—oh. Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what? I bet it was about that new girl. Yeah, we saw you looking at her. What is it that you like about her? Her boobs?" asked Touji with a leering expression on his face.

"Her thighs?" chimed in Kensuke, always interested in a bit of teasing.

"Her calves?" said the Idiot duo in unison.

"N-no…I was just thinking," stammered Shinji.

_Do they have to do that…they're almost like…Arano and Aruna from The World…. I wonder if they play…_

"Oh," said the Idiot Duo, visibly deflated. The jock brightened first though. "Lets eat, I'm starved."

**

* * *

**

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Courtyard**

Since "Reimeiki Hakubo" was a new student, Hikari had shown her around the school, pointing out classrooms, restrooms, the pool and other areas, along with various groups of people to talk to, avoid, or just be way of. Now the two were now looking for a place to have lunch, though Lycoris was still giggling a bit from the way that the lesson had gone. Morganna had been far more effective than she would have thought, and it brought a smile to her face to see the reactions of those three boys, particularly Shinji.

_I wonder if that's what it would have looked like if Alberio had ever blushed. But then, Alberio was always too pure of purpose for that, even if he was…wrong about some things—_

"—I asked where you wanted to have lunch, Hakubo-san?" said Hikari gently, in a far cry from how she had just treated Touji.

Not knowing the complex schema of interpersonal dynamics that existed in any school, particularly this one, Lycoris simply pointed to the hill, where the blue-haired mystery named Rei Ayanami sat alone.

"Are you…sure? I don't have anything against going over there, but Ayanami-san can be a little…strange sometimes."

"Everyone has some strangeness about them, much as everyone in the world is blessed," Lycoris replied Lycoris, with a gentle smile on her face. "Besides, she looks lonely over there…why don't we join her?"

Hikari sighed. There would be no arguing with "Reimeiki Hakubo", and she supposed that she could humor the new student for today. Maybe today would be the day when someone was able to get the rather reticent blunette to talk…maybe, though she wouldn't bet on it.

Nodding her head, she waved her companion over towards the hill, where the First Child waited, watching with unblinking crimson eyes. Rei Ayanami was curious as to why those two were approaching, to say the least, having questions not only about the mysterious arrival of the new student, but about the Class Representative as well. Her mind remembered a certain phrase spoken by a Flick Reaper in The World: _'In life, I am called the light. In The World, Tomoyami of the Shadow is my name…'_

_Light and Darkness…Hikari and Tomoyami? Most interesting…_

The focus of her thoughts had approached quietly, trailing the silver-haired transfer student who had apparently come from Germany.

"Ayanami-san, may we join you?" asked the Class Rep.

"…Hai," came the reply, after a few awkward moments of silence.

Lycoris took the moment to smile slightly as she and the Class Rep took seats on the grassy knoll. She recognized the girl sitting before her, or at least a version of her, from her time in the Void, though the recognition was most assuredly not mutual. Thus, the logical thing would be for her to introduce herself, much as she might have in The World if she had been free.

"Hello, Ayanami-san. My name is Reimeiki Hakubo," she said, genuinely pleased to meet someone new…and someone who seemed as she used to be in some ways.

"…What is your purpose here?" asked Rei impassively, who was not used to human interactions, much less someone simply introducing herself. Formal relationships were much more her cup of tea, as she knew how to behave. Anything else was…irrelevant.

'_Though perhaps not completely so, as The World has no formal relationships yet,' _she mused, considering, not for the first time, the possible reasons that she had been ordered to take part in that game.

"Questing for liminality, Ayanami-san. I was hoping…we could be friends."

Looking at Rei Ayanami, one might be able to see a flicker of emotion in her eyes, containing traces of both puzzlement and dismissal. But was there anything she felt inside of the emotionless shell of hers?

"Why?" she questioned, her tone bland and uncaring, her face hiding the troubled bitterness inside her core.

Lycoris hesitated for a moment before speaking. To say too much would be to condemn herself, to say too little, leading only to rejection.

"Do you play The World?" the silver haired girl asked, seeming to change the topic, as Hikari looked on, curious as to how this conversation would turn out.

"That is irrelev—" But Rei was interrupted by Lycoris, who proceeded to tell her why she played…and not for escapist reasons, either.

"—I see it as…my bond"

"Bond? To a game?"

Rei narrowed her eyes slightly, barely perceptible except to one who was looking for a change, no matter how minute. And if one listened closely, Rei's voice seemed to have a brittle edge to it that no one had ever heard in the past.

"To all people," responded Lycoris at last. "Not to a game, but to all people. Friendship is the same sort of bond, not only a bond of individuals, but one of all. We are not too different, you and I."

A cool breeze rustled the branches of the cherry tree, so that some of the sakura petals wafted about the trio of girls, creating an effect not unlike a gate-out in The World as Lycoris looked at Rei, waiting for a reply. There was silence, as the seconds ticked by into minutes, until the pale blue-haired pilot finally spoke, looking down at the grass.

"I'm sorry. I do not know what to say at a time like this..."

"I think you should just say 'yes,'" smiled Lycoris, holding out a hand. "Friends?"

"Yes," Rei said, looking blankly at the outstretched hand.

Seeing this, both Lycoris and Hikari chuckled.

"You're supposed to shake on it," said the Class Rep, "but that's enough for now. So…Ayanami-san, you said you play The World?"

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Rooftop**

While the girls were talking, the Three Stooges sat on the roof of the school of the roof, eating and partaking in their usual everyday activities. In other words, they were once again causing trouble for one another, talking about The World and (most definitely) teasing Shinji about his lack of luck with the fairer sex.

"Spill, man. How do you know the transfer student?" asked the excitable jock.

"Yeah, you two seemed pretty close when you _walked her over this morning," _added Kensuke, his eyebrows waggling up and down for effect.

"Did you _spend the night together or __something? _You look tired, like you _didn't get much sleep,"_ leered Touji, no doubt mentally picturing his interpretation of the situation.

"Or did she come over to yours, proclaiming her," and this is where Kensuke used some falsetto to try and imitate Lycoris' voice, "—undying love for the great Shinji-sama, pilot of Eva 01!"

As previously noted, Shinji's heart was in excellent condition. Not only could this be shown from his time running away from his problems, and being able to sustain a berserker rage, but also through how quickly his entire body turned a shade of red.

Seeing this, Touji crowed in triumph, knowing that blushing was a sure sign of embarrassment, which his brain told him meant that he was right.

"So," he said with a mock-offended tone, looking over at the designated pilot of Unit 01, who was at that moment trying to shrink into the ground, "you like Hakubo, eh? I always thought you had the hots for Ayanami! Or…maybe you want both of them…you sly dog."

He winked, and got Shinji into a headlock, in which he administered a most devastating punishment for hiding information/being a player: a noogie.

Kensuke shot him what was clearly a worried glance, but Touji didn't pay attention to that, or to the pair of golden eyes to regard him from the ground. After a couple of minutes of his not-so-tender ministrations, the jock grew bored and let Shinji go. The pilot by now was red not from embarrassment as much as annoyance.

And then it was Kensuke's turn to talk, as the jock had exhausted his repertoire of taunts…for now.

"So, about Aranami-sensei's project…do you play The World?" asked the bespectacled geek.

Shinji breathed a silent sigh of relief as the topic turned away from his love life (whether lack thereof or perceived successes), and to something more innocuous. Or so he hoped, at least.

"The World?" he echoed, wanting to see where this conversation would lead.

"Yeah, The World. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it…everyone's talking about it, especially since R2 came out. It's the MMORPG made by CC Corp, the same people behind the ALTIMIT OS, and is wildly popular."

"We help out newbies in The World, and man, there are some hot babes in there. There was even this one redhead who—"

But Touji was interrupted in mid-reminisce by Kensuke, who was a little annoyed at him because of a certain incident in the past.

"—proved that just like in real life, you do your thinking with your brawn and your…smaller head."

"WHY YOU!" the jock began, only to be cut off by a finger pointing down towards the courtyard. He followed the line made by the finger over to a grassy knoll where sat (surprise, surprise) the Class Rep, Ayanami, and the new student, who were in their turn looking towards the source of the outburst. Touji just gulped and turned back as if he had been stung.

"Gets him every time, even in game," Kensuke mentioned casually, making Touji grit his teeth in frustration.

Shinji chuckled at how the two friends treated one another, recalling a duo who treated each other similarly in The World, but who had each other's backs if push really came to shove. But then it was Kensuke's turn to play the "let's rib Shinji" game, as he slyly mentioned a few things about characters there.

"You know, you really should try it out. There are some pretty cute girls there, even ones that look like your dear Ayanami-chan. Blue hair, red eyes, legs that go on to infinity…and in The World, you can do _anything_ you want," he said, rather suggestively. When Shinji blushed again, Kensuke laughed and put on a pale imitation of an innocent expression, "I meant be a knight in shining armor and sweep the girls off their feet. What did you think I meant?"

"I-I-I…" stammered Shinji, just as the lunch bell rang, and the students collectively groaned, turning for the classroom once again.

_Saved by the bell…I just hope that Aranami-sensei doesn't use me as an example for something again. The first time was embarrassing enough…_

**

* * *

**

**NERV HQ, Tokyo-3, Bridge **

Having come back from her coffee run, Maya Ibuki was feeling slightly better. Then again, imbibing some of the most common psychoactive drug on the planet (caffeine) always did seem to help her stay awake during a repetitive series of analyses. Not that coffee was her elixir of life, but it did come close.

She sat at a MAGI terminal, anticipating another long and dreary day of processing Angel data that would yield results no different than she had been dealing with. Taking a fragment of core, the mousy brunette lab tech placed it under the scanning equipment and activated the start sequence.

There was a rumbling and beeping, quickly returning a result. With baited breath she turned, thinking that maybe this time, there would be something.

"Error 601: Unable to Analyze"

'_I really wish I could just have Aura take a look at this,'_ came a dark thought from the recesses of her mind, '_or that I could take a break and go into The World without risk. Though why we used an error code from Andromeda Strain is beyond me…green flashing patterns and all.'_

She glanced around, making sure that no one was in the immediate area, and then activated a few programs to run interference for her while she did her other "work."

_And if nothing else, Bith will cover for me. It is rather pleasant that my associate ended up working at this facility with me._

It wasn't as if anything too unusual would happen today, or that results would miraculously pop up. Besides, if something came up, she could always claim to have been doing diagnostic work. Life was better when no one suspected you, she had come to realize.

A few keystrokes later, she had looped the surveillance video again, put on her headset, and keyed her way into The World. Her character, Tsukinoki, was in Mac Anu now, wandering the streets, though she would soon be off to another place, preferably one of the Lost Grounds within The World: R2. If not in the Net Slums, she had always felt most comfortable there, in the place where all had stood against the Cursed Wave,

A low voice sounded from behind her, quoting a cryptic line of text

"…_And Helba, Queen of the Dark, has finally raised her army."_

Tsukinoki whirled to see who it was, recognizing a small barefooted girl with saffron hair, reddish-purple eyes and a white dress, holding a lycoris flower. For once, even she was surprised, as she had not anticipated seeing the daughter of Aura, but perhaps there would be answers.

"I thought you had returned to the wind?" she inquired, her eyes sharp and narrow with curiosity.

"I return to bring a message to one who helped mother long ago, to the one who guided the Twilight Dragon in his quest," replied Zefie, "Aura is... Aura is... Integrated into The World. She threw away individuality and became a 'God', then threw away being a 'God' and distanced herself from cause and effect, returning to inactivity, leaving The World to its players. She has not vanished, and may one day appear again."

Zefie smiled at Tsukinoki, looking up to her as she started to vanish into the air once more.

"So go seek out a new purpose in The World, and remember, we'll be there watching, one day to return."

With that, the saffron-haired girl completely disappeared, leaving behind a thoughtful Tsukinoki, who more firmly resolved to ensure that the AIDA would not become a threat to The World that she so dearly loved.

The sound of a gate in, and a golden spiral of light, as Rumor materialized in Mac Anu. The small gray-haired Harvest Cleric saw the Queen of the Dark, and strode towards her, waving his staff nervously.

"Greetings, my Queen. Rumor has it that the activity of the spots is increasing. Shall we be off to another place to converse amongst ourselves?"

"Very well then," conceded the regally dressed Tsukinoki, **"****Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground!**"

In a flurry of light, she vanished from the root town, only to be joined a moment later by the mysterious Rumor.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

Class this time was not quite as traumatic for Shinji as he might have feared. He was not used as an example, embarrassed, or called out in front of the class, much to his relief, though he was caught glancing over at both Ayanami and the silver-haired Hakubo, the former by the Idiot Duo and the latter by the girl in question, who had simply smiled at him knowingly.

Time flew by, and before long, class was nearing its end, though the teacher had one more question for them to solve.

"I simply need someone to solve this riddle for me, from the Epitaph of Twilight. If someone can, then I will give you your first homework assignment" she smirked, as groans were heard in the classroom, "…and then you may go for the day."

As if from memory, Morganna spoke, reciting an Epigraph spoken by a dragon in the text:

_The Keel Mountains traversed at last,_

_we met a dragon that spoke thus:_

_"Sheraton am I, who interprets the signs._

_An answer to my question, give._

_If you can, complete my role will be,_

_and I will leave this land._

_Though equally it exists before everyone's eyes,_

_grasp it not one person can._

_Tell me—what is it?"_

Finishing, she looked expectantly at her students, who all had looks of puzzlement and uncertainty upon their faces. They looked between one another, wondering if one of their number might be able to answer the question.

After a few minutes of thought, no one had yet figured out the answer, so Morganna was forced to use a different tactic.

"The first person to give me a correct response gets 2 points of extra credit."

This created a clamor, and quickly, a young man raised his hand.

"Your shadow?" he asked tentatively, only to receive a "no" in response.

A few more minutes passed, as different answers were tossed out and rejected, before Lycoris decided that she would have to respond or the class would never end.

"The moment," she said with confidence, as Morganna nodded.

"That is correct. Alright then…your assignment for tonight is simply to go over the first segment of the Epitaph and to create a character in The World. I expect a one page summary of your experiences tomorrow, with extra credit if you can get me the field keywords of locations described in the Epitaph. Class dismissed!"

The class representative stood up, calling out: "Stand, Bow, Sit!"

Quickly, the students obeyed, fearful of the Rep's great wrath, and then began to disperse for the day, with a couple trying to sneak out in the confusion. Or rather they began to, but found the way barred to them by a very red-in-the-face Hikari Horaki.

"You weren't thinking of skipping out on cleanup duty, were you?" she whispered menacingly, the air almost seeming to crackle about her in quietly murderous rage.

The Idiot Duo gulped in unison, and shook their heads at the thought.

"Nope, wouldn't dream of it," they chorused, pale and wide-eyed, as they were dragged off to get cleaning supplies.

This left Shinji alone in the class with Lycoris, who walked up to him with a shy smile.

"Can you walk me home, Ecchi-san?" she said playfully, enjoying the way that the boy would blush furiously at that.

"Gomen ne! I'm sorry about this morning," he said, fully expecting to be hit now that he had served his purpose.

To his surprise, the pale, silver-haired girl laughed, her amusement reflected in those captivating golden eyes of hers.

"I'm not going to hit you, Ikari-kun. I just wanted to ask if you would walk me home. You see, I'm new to this city, and you walked me to school, so I don't really know my own way."

He looked up, and swallowed nervously. Someone wanted to walk home with him? Someone who he had violated this morning? Someone who…was laughing off the violation?

Shinji's famous battle cry (or whimper) was beginning to play in his head once more, a familiar litany of words that strung together to say: "_I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away."_

"H-hai," he managed, opening the door for her.

They walked in a semi-awkward silence for a time, before Lycoris thought of something safe to talk about: schoolwork.

"Ikari-kun…do you play The World?"

Shinji froze in his steps, having been asked that question too many times in the day. The beginnings of panic could be seen forming in his eyes, as his legs twitched, wanting to run away.

_If I say yes, then she'll ask who I am in The World. If I say no, then I'm lying…and I don't want to li—_

He found his eyes only inches away from the one he had been walking with, azure orbs gazing into golden ones. She was standing all too close to him, he thought, flinching as she touched his hand.

"Oh relax, Ecchi-san." The playful tone was back, meaning that no good was going to come of this, thought Shinji. "I just wanted to know so that I could thank you for being such a gentleman today."

"T-t-thank _me_?" he asked incredulously, "Why would you thank me? I-I…"

_She'll probably just PK me…I know it. Just like that person in The World who I accidentally knocked into the water…why do I always have such bad luck? Why me?_

Lycoris smiled, shaking her head at Shinji's obvious discomfiture.

"You walked me to school and you're walking me back, even though you don't know me. And you apologized more than once, meaning you feel guilty. I know you're not a pervert, Ikari-kun. Just meet me in The World, at **Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. **I have something to show you," she said, her fingers lingering for a moment upon his hand before pulling away.

_I knew it…she's acting just like Eris, playing with me, pretending to accept my apology so that she can kill me. But…I violated her, and in real life. I deserve whatever punishment she can administer…I'm just grateful she didn't call me out in class._

"H-hai," he said with a touch of resignation, accepting his defeat. The moment was broken, and the two stepped apart, looking down and blushing a bit as they realized just how close they had been standing.

They walked together to the corner where the two had run into one another that morning, and said their goodbyes, Shinji nervously and Lycoris playfully. Parting company, they headed to their respective dwellings, where guardians and The World awaited.

* * *

**Misato's Apartment**

The door burst open and a dejected Third Child entered, gulping at his inevitable pain and suffering to come. It had not been a bad day, overall, with Suzuhara's half-hearted apology and new teacher, but he was mortified by some of the other events that had happened. Being used as a demonstration for psychological terms, getting mercilessly teased by his new "friends," and being embarrassed beyond all reason by a beautiful transfer student had not been part of his scenario!

But, he thought, he was Shinji, meaning that all of his plans were doomed to failure anyway. Why run from the pain when it would just come back to find you? The best thing to do was just to shut your eyes and hope for the best.

It was odd, the sounds of an empty apartment. Misato wasn't home, presumably still doing paperwork at NERV, and so the only occupant would be—

"WARK WARK!"

Well, perhaps he had forgotten to take Pen-Pen into account, as the vociferous penguin demanded its afternoon repast. Rolling his eyes, Shinji went to the refrigerator and prepared a couple of sardines for the bird, before heading into his "lovely suite" and closing the door behind him.

His homework (if one could call playing The World homework) awaited, as did the one who he concluded would probably be his tormentor. Yes, she was pretty, but she had almost given him a heart attack…and well, Eris had been pretty too, up until the point she had tried to cut him in half.

Walking over to his desk, he plunked himself down into his chair, picked up the headset and turned on the computer. When the welcome screen popped up, he clicked **'Log in'**, and synched to his game character, as the room around him faded away to reveal the Root Town of Mac Anu.

He materialized in front of the Chaos Gate, watching as a very familiar figure passed him by, one who looked just like—

_Wait…Ayanami? No…why would Ayanami play this? It has to be a coincidence, right?_

His heart pounded in shock and near-panic, as he tried to talk himself out of it.

_It can't be…its just a—_

The figure turned to look at him, studying his character design intently (which, for most purposes, was a male copy of Rei with longer hair), as two sets of crimson eyes met.

"Curious," was all the other said before gating out to parts unknown.

Rather shaken, Shinji hesitantly input the keywords that would lead him to another encounter with the mysterious transfer student, hoping against hope that perhaps she would not PK him on sight, as golden whorls of light whisked him away.

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground**

Skari appeared in a cascade of light, in front of the majestic Hulle Granz Cathedral, the place which hid heaven. The only sound there was the whispering of the wind that ruffled his hair, with no other in sight.

_Perhaps she just forgot about me? Or maybe I'm early…_

Taking a deep breath, he entered through the massive double doors and found himself within the cathedral, light pouring through the stained glass window behind the altar. Something about that compelled him to go forth, and so he stepped forward, closer and closer to the front of the church.

An empty pedestal where something used to be, with strange words inscribed into its base.

'_Skeith. Innis. Magus…and the rest I cannot read…'_

Footsteps sounded from behind him, with a cool voice reflecting, somewhat wistfully: "There was a statue here once…"

He whirled about, hands reaching for his blades, only to fall limply to his sides when he saw that the other was unarmed. This other was a young girl clad in a red dress marked with an infinity symbol, an adorable red cape clasped about her delicate shoulders. Her hair, silvery with red streaks, streamed uncased down her lithe form, decorated with crimson ribbons and a spider lily behind one ear, and her eyes shone golden in the twilight sun.

"Hakubo-san?" Skari questioned, wanting to be sure who this was.

"In this place…call me Lycoris, Ecchi-san, or should I say Skari?" she replied lightly, a smile playing across her lips. She looked away, a far away expression on her face, as if remembering something from the distant past. "An old man lived here once, and later…the statue of a young girl, in this place once called the Navel of Lake."


	9. Login 04: Broken Mirrors

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

**

* * *

**

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, Roof of Hulle Granz Cathedral**

The Queen of the Dark looked down upon the two below, a knowing smile flitting across her lips even as, behind the visor, one of her elegant eyebrows arched in surprise. Her companion at the time, the one named Rumor, was slightly more vocal in his reaction.

"Is that…the Goddess?" he asked, his voice an uncharacteristically hoarse whisper. "Rumor had it that she had returned to The World, but—"

"No," replied Tsukinoki, her tone firm, but gently so. "She is the one who came before, who was called the unwanted Child of Twilight. Her name is Lycoris, sister of Aura."

_And she is quite an unexpected arrival in The World: R2. She left the system of The World except as the core fragment of code in the Goddess' Daughter…now she returns, logging on from the outside. What a curious development…especially since she seems to know Shinji._

The grey-haired little Harvest Cleric closed his eyes, showing not a little shock and surprise. Whether it was at the piece of news or at the fact that the Queen of the Dark had known this when he hadn't, no one would know, though it could quite possibly be the latter. Rumor prided himself on being able to collect and pass on the various legends and rumors in The World, particularly anything related to the Twilight or the .hackers, after all, and in this new version of The World…many had forgotten the past.

Some would say that this meant that his role became more important because of that, but when all had forgotten, of what use would it be? A new world this was, meaning new stories and new legends yet to be written…even the names of the .hackers and the Descendants of Fianna had mostly been forgotten.

"The sister of the Goddess, the child not yet seen? Many legends have I heard in my time, but this one is news even to me."

_Were there legends that even he did not know?_ The thought disturbed him, though it was only logical that it might be, for Rumor had come into existence long after Aura's ascension to divinity, whereas Lycoris had been of an earlier age.

Tsukinoki smirked at this, chuckling as she regarded the little Harvest Cleric and thought of what the future might hold. Aura still watched, she knew…the message from Zefie proved that much. As it was, she simply gave one of her more cryptic answers, with a small verbal barb.

"Remember that your namesake will always be vague, pointless to clarify rumors as they adjust and adapt to the time and place. Before a rumor may begin, someone must see or hear…and someone must instigate the rumor, granting it a life of its own. It's dangerous to believe in rumor."

The gray-haired one chuckled, nodding, with a wry smile, as if acknowledging a hit.

"Ah, but rumor doesn't go away no matter how hard others try. And like a ripple on a calm surface, it changes events and things to be."

Tsukinoki shook her head, as the breeze wafted about her so that her luxurious blond hair streamed out and themselves rippled like waves.

"But even you, dear Rumor, can only follow events after the fact. So why don't we go and greet them?"

The regal queen tapped her staff upon the roof of the cathedral and vanished in a column of light, as the young boy of the waters shook his head and did the same.

**

* * *

**

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, Inside Hulle Granz Cathedral**

Skari looked over at the empty altar, wondering what the statue of the girl once there had looked like, tilting his head and screwing up his face into a rather curious expression.

"The Navel of Lake?" he asked, being unfamiliar with the term.

Footsteps echoed in the Cathedral as Lycoris walked around him, her dress swishing about her bare feet, and the infinity symbol upon it eerily glowing in the dimness. She turned, climbing up onto the altar and holding up one of her arms, taking the spider lily from behind her ear as she looked out into the cathedral.

A beam of light fell from the upper story window squarely upon her face, causing her to appear angelic, otherworldly, even ethereal as her golden eyes peered at the Adept Rogue, who could not suppress a startled gasp at how lovely she looked, or the fear that he was about to be harmed for something.

The word "Beautiful…" slipped from his mouth before he realized it, and Lycoris' lips upturned slightly as she began to reply.

"This place was not always called the Hulle Granz Cathedral, the place which hides heaven. Nor has it always looked this way. There was a lake about this cathedral once, Alba's lake, which has long since boiled away. This church used to be Root Town, reachable with the keywords 'Navel of Lake', since it stood in the center of the lake. Do you remember where the name comes from? We read about it in the Epitaph of Twilight."

_And I have lived through and seen many of the events foretold in the Epitaph. I wonder though, if there is to be a new meaning to them, a new story for them to unveil. _

Shinji thought for a second, his form going still as he sifted through the muddled, half-repressed events from his homeroom.

_The coming of Aranami-sensei, the reading and…ah, that's it._

"The Navel of Lake," he began uncertainly, "where Apeiron, King of Light met with—"

A note played.

Once again, it was the distinctly recognizable A in C Major, a sound which heralded the coming of change in The World once, and that might just do so again.

A column of light manifested itself, shimmering within the dimness of the cathedral, with an orb of gold-flecked silver spiraling down around it. Shinji turned in shock at this unexpected sight, taking an involuntary step backwards. In an explosion of brilliance, both disappeared, revealing the form of two Harvest Clerics, one the statuesque blonde sorcerer-queen he had seen before, and the other a small boy dressed in robes like the sea.

"—I believe the words you were looking for are: Helba, Queen of the Dark," commented the sorceress in white, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Not for the first time did Skari's mouth fall open, working up and down like a fish out of water, though nothing came out. This was the second time he had encountered Tsukinoki, and it was no less unnerving than the last time. As was getting to be a habit in The World, he had a feeling that there was something that he should know but didn't, something that he was missing…and that the regal, queen-like Harvest Cleric held most of the pieces to the puzzle.

As for the other Harvest Cleric, the one with tousled grey hair, big blue eyes, and a small teardrop shaped tattoo on his left cheek who went by name of Rumor, Skari was more uncertain. While he seemed to defer to the one he called "Queen", Skari rather thought that the small boy was more than he seemed to be. For one, Rumor had such incredible power, as demonstrated by the dramatic rescue of the day before…and how had the Cleric been able to find his party? Again, there was more to

"Now now, I would close that mouth if I were you, slayer of Angels. There are greater mysteries than what you see before you."

Tsukinoki smirked as Skari finally shut his mouth, his teeth coming together with a rather audible _'click.'_ Then she looked over to Lycoris, the girl in red, who she had recognized from long ago, inclining her head in greeting.

"It has been far too long since we met, Lycoris, Child of Twilight…and sister of Aura, goddess of The World."

Rumor was a little more deferential, going down on one knee and saluting with his staff. He studied the silver-haired girl in red who stood upon the altar, speaking softly, much more solemnly than was usual for him.

"Greetings, Lycoris, forerunner to the Goddess. It is truly an honor to meet the one who came before the time of Twilight, mi'lady."

While this was being said, Tsukinoki glanced over at Skari and was barely able to suppress a chuckle at seeing his goggle-eyed expression.

_A Goddess? Lycoris is related to a goddess? Since this IS The World, I would say that it is merely roleplay, but these powerful and mysterious characters seem to know her…and even to respect her. There's more going on here than I think…and why does she want to spend time with me?_

Lycoris' reaction was rather less blatant than Skari's had been, merely a slight widening of the eyes and a flickering of her gaze over the new arrivals, both of which she recognized, after a fashion.

One was the Queen of the Dark, had sheltered her after her "erasure" from The World, caring for the remaining fragments of her, and in a way, Lycoris supposed that she could be considered a friend, as enigmatic and powerful as Tsukinoki, or Helba, was and would once again be.

The other was an information seeker and rumormonger of sorts, who had also frequented the Slums, though he had not noticed her in that distant past. Still, Lycoris knew of him in the way that distant relations will, having continued to gather information even when she had been fragmented, up until the point when Zefie had set her free.

_So, other AIs continue to roam The World, though Aura has vanished, returning to the wind, as she was wont to do. Her name is that of the goddess of the wind…_

She looked at the new arrival with wide eyes, smiling sadly at how shocked Skari seemed to be about all this. The boy had had a long enough day without all of these new complications arising to haunt him.

For a moment, silence reigned, and in the background could be heard the gentle ticking of the pendulums as they hung suspended in the seemingly endless cathedral. Then Lycoris spoke, looking upon the two Harvest Clerics and one very confused Adept Rogue.

"Hello, Helba…old friend and guardian. And greetings to you, young Harvest Cleric…Rumor, I think. I cannot remember much after my first passing. But in this World, I am no goddess…just one who will self-preserve. I was a failure when I was born, an unwanted child."

She took a deep breath before continuing, a breath which seemed to catch in her throat for a minute.

"It was in this church that my father cast me away, and now my aim is simply to interact with The World and grow with it. I do not throw away individuality to become a God…I merely dwell here, in these Twilight days, a living memory of what came before."

Naturally, these words made the Queen of the Dark quite curious, and she murmured under her breath a quote from the Epitaph:

"_The whole cannot be changed._

_We have already lost that chance._

_Because the time left to us was short,_

_We were mistaken in our path._

_But now do we realize,_

_We should change not the whole,_

_But the parts."_

Skari had the distinct impression that he was becoming involved in something that he didn't quite understand, something beyond the whisperings of his heart or his dirty mind. In fact, his usual mantra was voicing its concerns in force now, the discordant strains of "_I mustn't run away" _echoing in his head. In spite of that voice, he took a furtive glance towards the door, only to be caught by the Sorceress in White, who transfixed him with her stare alone.

It was then that he decided that he never wanted to be on Tsukinoki's bad side…or Lycoris'. For one thing, he had very poor luck with the fairer sex, and the last thing he needed was to be blasted into a thousand little bits by a vengeful woman. As the old proverb went, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," as Eris had so aptly demonstrated…and Tsukinoki was more intimidating now than Eris at her worst. Lycoris as well, but for entirely different reasons, as he found his eyes roaming over her again, and was caught by the playful silver-haired girl, who went as far as to wink at the mortified young man.

Turning her attention back to the Queen of the Dark, Lycoris sighed, inclining her head.

"Exactly. As I am now a shadowed one, that is what we may change now in this greatly changed World…the parts, though who we are and what we are. Against the Cursed Wave called Time, that is all we can do in the moment. For now…all who are within this world are blessed, even in the absence of Aura."

Rumor's lips quirked upwards as he heard the words of the Goddess, or at least of the Goddess' sister. In a way, the two were alike, born of information and data, though Lycoris had far more potential than he, born in the Age of Aura.

"Rumor has it that are shadows encroaching upon this land. Shadows growing from the void, born of errors in the system, not of the black box. They were born in the absence of the Goddess…unless you can take her place?"

He bowed deeply, not quite willing to meet Lycoris' gaze, as he was quite aware of the gravity of his request. So it was that the little gray-haired Harvet Cleric missed the sad expression on her face, and the lone tear that traced a tentative trail down her cheeks and to the floor.

She was lost in memory as a grainy image of an old man with unkempt white hair and piercingly green eyes appeared in the vision of the other three. Her voice croaked as an old file was brought forth, one that had been shown to Alberio long ago, and hauntingly, she repeated the words that AI Harald had once told her:

"_I cannot become Aura. It's not who I was designed to become. I…I am a failure…"_

When vision was restored, the girl in red, once seemingly confident and playful, broke down in tears, the spider lily in her hand falling the floor in front of the altar as she herself crumpled, curling herself up into a ball, head resting on knees held close to the body.

Tsukinoki shook her head. That had not gone as well as she had hoped, and she knew that it was probably time for her to leave before things got worse…or other bad memories were triggered. The Sorceress in White walked up to Lycoris and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry to bring up the past," she murmured sympathetically, knowing that it was not her place to console. She turned to Rumor and gave him new instructions:

"For now, you've done enough. Go seek the one of Winter, who quests for purpose, and speak to her in your usual way."

A in C Major sounded, as the form of the blue-clad Harvest Cleric formed once again into a sphere of crackling silver-gold and vanished.

Then Tsukinoki turned to Skari, fixing him with her gaze, though as always, the visor that she wore hid her eyes.

"Take care of Lycoris, Skari. Like you, she has had a difficult life, but her story is harsher than even you know, Third Child."

Now Skari really did take a step backwards, truly disturbed by the notion that this woman knew who he was in real life.

"How? What? Bu—"

"—don't ask questions that I cannot answer."

He had a suspicion as to who this might be, and decided to voice it in the hopes of finding an answer of a sort.

"Dr. Akagi?"

Tsukinoki only chuckled and shook her head.

"Not even close. We will meet again, hopefully under better circumstances."

A spiral of light and the sorcerer-queen gated out, leaving Skari alone with a sobbing Lycoris. Not really knowing what to do, he just turned to her and took a tentative step or two forward. Gulping down a lump in his throat, he bent over, picking up the spider lily that she had dropped on the ground, and sitting down next to her.

With more control than he knew he possessed, Skari put an arm around the shaken young girl, restoring the spider lily to its rightful place behind her ear.

"You're not alone," he managed to get out, as he felt Lycoris' arms encircle him and squeeze as if clinging on for dear life, as if he were the only anchor in an uncertain world.

Truth be told, this was the closest that he had ever been to a girl, and he was royally embarrassed. Not in the "I'm blushing like a tomato" way that would happen when Arano and Aruna teased him, but the "I'm glowing as hot as molten iron" way that might cause others to joke of him as Skari of the Crimson Cheeks. Still, in spite of his fear and embarrassment, it would be wrong of to run away, and so he just held her comfortingly as she leaned against him, her face buried against his chest.

"You're not alone," Skari whispered again, more firmly this time. He knew what it was like to be unwanted, to be considered a failure, and he would not abandon this girl who was so much like him, who thrilled and intimidated him on so many levels in real life, and in The World.

It seemed an eternity before Lycoris' hot tears ceased to flow, and a tentative hand touched Skari's face, causing him to look down at the girl in his arms. She smiled weakly, saying only "Thank you, Ecchi-san."

She leaned close to him and kissed him gently on the lips, before simply sinking back into the comfort of his arms, as Skari stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. In real life, Shinji's was indeed blazing like a second sun, and he didn't really know what to think. His mind had long ceased rational thought with a beautiful girl so close to him and everything else that had transpired. Lycoris on the other hand, just found it hard that someone would actually care about her, as no one else had wanted her in the past...ever.

Suffice it to say, with the myiad of half-formed thoughts and feelings going through their minds, it was quite a long night...


	10. Login 04a: Rage and Obsession

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Bulwark**

A vengeful Eris stood triumphant over the grayed out corpse of a once boisterous Lord Partizan, who had dared to call himself the "Heavy Swift-Footed Doberman" who "springs into action faster than all." Well, she had showed him, hadn't she? A simple damsel-in-distress act had been enough to mislead the "great hero" for long enough for the Bringer of Strife to strike.

It wasn't that she liked being seen as week, hated it, really, since that would mean that others thought of her as nothing but an ineffectual doll that they wanted to use and throw away, but if it would get her what she wanted…there was nothing that she would not resort to in order to achieve her aims. At least in the online World, where she was rapidly gaining power…soon enough, she would be respected and feared as a Chaotic PK, one of the most notorious and skilled in all The World.

So it was that after…well, not too much of a struggle, Piros the 3rd had fallen. No surprise, really, since Eris had attacked him from behind while he was busy spouting some nonsense about dreams being as important as the entire universe. Her strike had gone critical, with her chainsaw blade quickly carving through the gleaming armor of the lumbering Lord Partizan.

The golden giant's bumbling subsequent efforts to defend himself, which largely consisted of flailing about with his Golden Spear and looking ridiculous in the process, had proved worthless. Indeed, Eris had barely had time to enjoy the startled expression on Piros' face (what little of it could be seen behind the red sunglasses) and the shocked gasp of: "She of fair eyes…" before she dispatched him with a last blow.

It was satisfying to be able to kill so easily and overpower an opponent. Perhaps by the end of her training session she would try to hunt down one of those who had so angered her in the recent past. Putting away her sword, the Edge Punisher smirked and looked toward the far off wall, basking in the afterglow of her latest kill.

_I managed to kill off a Lord Partizan, who supposedly has great defense and attack. Granted, he wasn't expecting my fierce flurry of blows, but I still think I did rather well…soon I'll be strong enough to take on any who would dare to offer challenge to me._

She had a hunch that there might be more victims-to-be near the Morrigu Barrow Wall, the great gate blocking passage to heaven in The World's myth. It was the abode of the God of Judgment, Folset, who kept humans from gaining entrance to the home of the gods…but she would show them. In real life, she was one who trained to slay the messengers of the divine, and she was not going to obey rules that didn't suit her—

A ping sounded, indicating that she had received a new item.

"_Smoke Screen," _she read, her lips curving downwards in a frown as she saw its description. "A_n item that renders the party invisible to escape battle. Bah! What need has the great Eris of an item to help her run away?_

The Edge Punisher scoffed at what the Lord Partizan had dropped and was about to simply cast it aside when she thought better of it. Even if she had no need for it, she could always sell it for GP. Items were not cheap, with the NPCs seemingly conspiring to fix prices at exorbitant levels. At the thought of that, a few more muttered curses slipped past her tenuous restraints…for along with the memory of the over-priced shopping trip came the unbidden image of the face of one of her bluenette taunters…both the Ice Queen and the one who had had the gall to call her a doll.

She growled…she _would_ have her revenge, no matter what it took, even if it meant—

_There._ In the distance was a flash of blue, a moving patch, as if someone was wandering aimlessly near the wall. '_Could it be a bluenette?' _Wondered Eris, her lips drawing back in a feral smile. '_If so…perhaps my revenge is now at hand. I'll show that Scheißekopf what it means to earn the wrath of Eris, Bringer of Strife!'_

The Edge Punished threw back her head and laughed, a dark, dangerous cackle that would have put her on par with many an egotistical villain…if anyone had heard her. As it was, she was far enough away from anyone that she went unheard, stalking quietly towards her prey, getting closer and closer…

Meanwhile, a young Twin Blade continued to walk along the Morrigu Barrow Wall, searching for something from her past. A player of the original game, she had cherished memories from the time of Twilight, though she seemed as dark as ever, missing those times now. Above her somewhat revealing one piece outfit in blue waved her olive-green hair, with one long strand in particular that stuck up, seeming to form a sort of question mark above her head.

She was of mid-rank herself, and carried two daggers that seemed to be crafted of golden whorls, though she sought something else, something from the past.

"Where could that Spiral Edge be?" she murmured to herself. Of course, the fact that her eyes seemed to be perpetually closed might have proved a hindrance…if this were not The World. As it was, what held her back was the vagueness of certain instances in the past…she knew that she could recapture the happiness she had if only she could find an item: the Spiral Edge daggers that Kite had given her in The World.

_I must find it…that is my purpose in The World. Even if I am not the best or the strongest…I'll give it my all, since I don't want to be a burden to anyone ever again…_

Of course, a darker shadow lurked in the recesses of her mind, but for now it was suppressed, as Natsume didn't want to give in to violence. She was shy and rather innocent, continuing her journey and woefully unaware of the fearsome Edge Punisher sneaking up behind her (not that she would have suspected anything if she knew, as PKing had not been an option when she first played, many years ago).

But as fate would have it, even the clumsiest and most absent-minded of individuals can sometimes get lucky, and the enthusiastic Twin Blade happened to turn around, convinced that maybe there was a monster or clue on how to get past the gate behind her. What she found instead was a charging Eris, who she simply sidestepped, convinced that the Edge Punisher simply hadn't been watching where she was going.

Eris had just leapt up into the air when she saw her target move out of the way, causing her to suppress a bitter string of curses. It simply wasn't possible that someone might have seen her…maybe the other girl got lucky. Still, the would-be PK landed on her feet gracefully enough, whirling to face a person…who definitely wasn't a bluenette.

_Scheiße! This isn't one of those that I have a burning desire to kill…but she looks naïve enough to be killed easily. I guess I can pretend to be helpful again…after all, I do it enough in real life, toying with my victims before strike._

"Hi, I'm Eris," she said cheerily, not a trace of guile to be found on her face. "What brings you here?"

"My name is Natsume," replied the green-haired girl. "I'm looking for the item called Spiral Edge. Do you know where I can find one?"

"I think its in a chest not too far from here. I'll even walk you there, if you want," Eris ad-libbed, hoping that the girl would accept her offer, as it would make her job so much simpler.

"Oh, ok!" said Natsume brightly, "Thank you! There are so many nice people in The World."

Eris was rather amused by this comment, but didn't let it show.

_This Twin Blade must be a newbie to be this naïve. So by PKing her, I'll be doing her a favor, introducing her to the way The World works. Maybe I'll even boost her confidence by sending her against some monsters first…_

"This way then," she said neutrally, gesturing for Natsume to continue to walk along the wall. "Don't worry, its not far."

They walked in companionable silence for a bit, and the Edge Punisher began to fall ever so slightly behind, reaching quietly for her blade to get ready for what she assumed would be a quick battle. This one was slightly different from what she had used against Piros, as this one was of the Hold and Release variety, a weapon where she could unleash a bonus strike after a successful hit, producing a large shockwave and flinging the opponent into the air.

_Where I can cleave her in two easily, especially if she is the newbie that she seems to be. Why would a higher level act so foolish anyway?_

Backing up to give herself some room to accelerate, Eris charged forward, intending to run Natsume through from behind, and it was only by a stroke of seeming luck that the Twin Blade turned to block in time.

"I thought you were going to help me!" Natsume whispered hoarsely.

"Heh. You newbies are all alike…useless and naïve, compliant to everyone's wishes. Well, time to see you die, doll. _**Bone Crusher!**_"

Eris' lips pulled back into a fierce snarl, as she leapt into the air, somersaulting forward to bring her massive blade upon her opponent and cleave her in two—only to find that her opponent was not there.

_Coward! Did she run away like ev—ugh!_

"_**Chaotic Strike!"**_

She was struck in the back by one blade, then another, and another again in successive strikes that shaved off half of her HP before she could recover forward, whirling to confront her mystery attacker. At the sight of the twin blade Natsume standing confidently with two _Spin Ban Mu_s held in her hands, a strange fire burning in her eyes, Eris involuntarily took a step back.

_How had a newbie taken off half of my HP? s_he wondered. Then again, perhaps she had been mistaken in her initial assessment of the other's experience and level, since the knowledge of that skill meant that her opponent was not as low leveled as she had thought. The percieved deception caused her to growl in anger, directed towards herself as much as the other for putting on an act.

"Where is the Spiral Edge?" the other demanded, her eyes glinting as she spun about in a beautiful spiral of death that Eris was only barely able to block, before catching the Edge Punisher off guard with a vicious kick to the stomach, following up with her blades.

"_**Triple Strike!"**_

Eris let out an '_oof!' _of surprise as the attack knocked her character to the ground, and she was fortunate that she rolled to the side, or the next strike would have slammed her blade out of her hand. As it was, she had nearly dropped her weapon, and to be left defenseless against this, this…

There was really no time to think and yet she did so anyway, all the while charging forward with the technique _**"Tiger Blitz!"**_to lend her speed.

_How could this character be so powerful? Even without her weapons, she is overpowering mine with ease…and I'm an Edge Punisher. She's just a weak—_

_Clang! _Weapons locked together once again, but this time it was the green-haired Natsume who gave ground, albeit by bounding backwards and causing Eris to overextend herself. _Oof! _Another kick, and then the other had entangled her arms and forced her to drop her weapon before throwing her to the dirt.

"I don't know where your stupid Spiral Edge is! It probably doesn't even exist in this version of The World anyway, baka! _**Fire Storm**_" Eris shouted defiantly, summoning a fireball to hopefully wound her foe for the first time in this battle, for as much as she hated to admit it…she was outmatched.

Now caring only about retrieving her weapon, she dived for her sword, seizing upon the hilt and pulling it towards her, only to find that her opponent had reached it first and was standing on it.

Sand was kicked into her face, and Eris blinked involuntarily, just long enough for the blade to be knocked away by the one who had seemed so innocent at first.

"And now…die," hissed Natsume, her blades a maelstrom of destruction as they scythed towards Eris, who was doing all that she could to keep out of the way…unsuccessfully. In a mirroring of her earlier encounter with Piros, her HP dropped precipitously, almost to '0 HP' when she accidentally activated her last item, the Smoke Screen that she had picked up earlier.

The Edge Punisher and would be PK vanished from sight, as Natsume narrowed her eyes and picked up Eris' fallen weapon. There was the sound of a hurried gate out, and then silence for a few moments, before Natsume blinked, looking around in confusion as a fireball struck a distance behind her.

"That was strange. Where did Eris go? And how did I get this sword? I guess she didn't want to play with someone who would only be a burden," she said mournfully, before continuing her search for the Spiral Edge.

_Its here somewhere…I know it. I just have to find someone who will help me find it…_

* * *

**Δ Server Eternal City Mac Anu**

Golden coils of light coalesced near the Chaos Gate of Mac Anu, vanishing to reveal the shaken form of Eris. She looked around wild-eyed for a minute, then took a deep breath and wandered into the restless throngs of people scattered throughout the city.

_Mien Gott! What was that girl? One moment she seemed so naïve, and the next…I didn't even land a hit on her…She must be a cheater. There's no way I could be weaker than some newbie chasing after something in the old version of a game. I need to get stronger…_

As she headed into the market area, she heard broken snatches of conversation that began to give her a better picture of who she had just fought against, and how lucky she was to be alive.

"…Chaotic PK…"

"…one moment, and the next moment she was hammering at my HP…"

"Twin blade with greenish hair and a blue outfit"

"…eyes closed like she was taunting me…"

"…Killed 30 players today…someone should put a bounty on her head…"

"…Natsume…Spiral Edge…Chaotic PK…"

All those and more she heard, making her eyes bulge in disbelief. _Wait…that…wondergirl was a Chaotic PK? Who has slain over 30 people today? __Scheiße! She was putting on an act…and she stole my sword. I'll have to add her to the list of those I will exact revenge on as the Bringer of Strife!_

She wandered through the town for a bit, calming her nerves and acquiring a new weapon. The price was nearly enough to make her storm out to the fields in a huff, but she couldn't exactly rely on her older weapons, as much as she did like to rend the flesh of her enemies with the chainsaw blades. Combined with the new potions that she needed (and the Smoke Screen that she very reluctantly bought, having needed it before), Eris was now nearly broke.

_Maybe I should go for a field run in a low level area, where I can gain GP and wipe out some perverts in one fell swoop. Maybe __**Δ Submissive Love's Puddle? **__Yes, that would be perfect, since I'd be almost double the level of whoever was there. _

Her lips curled up into a smirk once more. She would become a Chaotic PK, and it would be her name spoken with fear and reverence in the streets of Mac Anu. Eris made a promise to herself then, that she would become stronger at any cost, for to be inferior to anyone was unacceptable, even in the online world.

The Edge Punisher walked towards the Chaos Gate, with the crowd perceptive enough to move out of the way of one possessed with such burning anger and malice. The desire for power was not unknown, but who knew what a never satisfied higher-level might do for it? Especially one with a smile on her face and a penchant for yelling at newbies, as had been observed earlier.

Once at the platform, Eris entered in her needed keywords, fading away in a golden spiral of light.

* * *

**Δ Submissive Love's Puddle**

The first thing that Eris saw upon going to the field was a Tribal Grappler and Shadow Warlock duo fighting with one another in the hazy distance. They seemed familiar, so she squinted to try and make out who they were…and as it turned out, she recognized them only too well.

_Well, well, well…if it isn't the meddlers who first kept me from being known now as a great PK. The time for my revenge comes more swiftly than I had thought…_

A genuine smile flitted across her lips then, especially when she saw a lucky animal wandering near the gate. She leapt up into the air, and like a cat, pounced upon it, taking hold of it and launching it into the air with a front-snap kick that would have surely had the poor creature clutching itself in pain if it had been male.

_This one was a Chimera, which will appear in the beginning of a battle to deal a huge amount of damage to my enemies. See? Misfortune can never hold down the great As—Eris, Bringer of Strife!_

Taking pains to appear unarmed and peaceful, she began walking over towards the duo, hoping that her womanly charms would be enough to distract them from her true aims.

While she was doing this, coming closer and closer to the Idiot Duo, Arano was recovering from a one of the noogies that Aruna had given him.

"You really goofed this time, Aruna," said the Shadow Warlock, with just a touch of anger. "This area is way too easy for us, and where was this 'cute young girl' we were supposed to be helping out."

"'ey man, chill. I thought there would be babes here in this place," replied the Tribal Grappler, trying to keep his friend from casting some manner of magic on him by appealing to their mutual interest: women.

That was the wrong thing to say, or perhaps the right thing, for Arano angrily waved his arms around, and hissed at him.

"You always mention babes, and that always gets us in trouble. Today we had to serve cleanup duty because you couldn't keep your mouth shut about the new transfer student and how lucky Ikari was. And now where are we? In a field where…"

The words he was about to say died in his mouth as soon as he caught sight of Eris approaching them, her distinctively feminine form more entrancing than a piece of military hardware.

To them, she was a vision, scantily clad in formfitting leather armor that barely covered the essentials, waves of fiery red hair falling to the small of her black, her stride slow, almost seductive….

"Whoah! A babe!" shouted Aruna, who had turned to see what Arano was looking at, ending up too excited to contain himself. At this point, they couldn't see her face quite yet, as she was walking out of the sun, but the lines of her curvaceous form were more than delectable enough to keep the lustful teenage boy occupied.

Eris heard the shout, of course, wincing at the voice of the Tribal Grappler, but she couldn't exactly just charge at them and exact her vengeance that way. Granted, her opponents would be weak, easily manipulated teenage males, but there were two of them, and she wasn't sure if the bluenet Skari was there. If he was…then she couldn't risk a charge, so instead, she sauntered up to them, hoping that they would not decide to attack her on sight.

It was about now that Arano finally picked out the details of Eris' face and whatever vestiges of desire he had held within him vanished, leaving only a cold feeling in his stomach. He hastily grabbed his grimoire _Magic Nymph _and shouted out a warning.

"Stay back or I'll attack! I'm not in the mood to be Pked!"

"Oh, relax, I'm not here to fight," called Eris sweetly, as she continued to advance.

"Oh yeah? Well how can we be sure of that?" challenged a still suspicious Arano, who did not exactly want to let Eris, as attractive as she was, close to him.

To his surprise, the Edge Punisher drew her sword…and dropped it, letting it clatter to the ground.

"I'm leaving my weapon here as a token of goodwill. Will that do?"

She smiled brightly at the duo, who had to fight to retain their wits against the one foe they could not truly overcome: the fairer sex.

Looking towards the pair, Eris found that the Tribal Grappler, Aruna, was still watching her, lecherously undressing her with his eyes. While she seethed inside at this act of perversion, she knew that she had to play along for now in order to do the most harm. Making sure that she remained in plain sight so the Shadow Warlock wouldn't get suspicious, she strutted over to the tall, dark and not so handsome Grappler, putting an extra swish into her hips.

Aruna licked his lips, for though he couldn't quite understand why this model of feminine beauty was coming towards, him, he wasn't about to complain. She was bold in her approach, putting a finger to the base of his neck and running it downwards, as Aruna shuddered in anticipation of what was to come.

"So where's Skari, handsome?" she asked coyly, almost as if the one she wanted to see was him.

Hearing this, Aruna's eyes narrowed, and he nearly facefaulted, as Arano suppressed a chuckle. Even if the perpetrator of this was Eris, who had PKed them in the past, it was still fun to laugh at his misfortune.

"Wha-What do you need him for when you have me?" answered Aruna suggestively, putting an arm around Eris, and trying to make the most of good fortune that he knew probably would not last for too much longer.

"Nothing at all," said Eris, "you're all I'm looking for. A big strong man to protect me, since you overwhelmed me with your power last time…"

_I can't believe I'm doing this, but won't the blockhead be surprised if he tries to go any further with me…that and it will make his little friend jealous, just a little too slow to come to his aid. _

She licked her lips seductively, batting her eyelashes at the big bodybuilder of a PC. Aruna wasn't unattractive, after all, and would be considered quite the catch in the real world to a few…but he wasn't exactly Eris' type either.

Aruna's heart beat faster, as his mind worked overtime, trying to override his smaller head, but not entirely succeeding.

_But what about the Class Rep? Eh, what about her…this hottie wants to hook up with me…why not? What's so good about the Rep anyway? Heh heh._

Reason being shoved to the side by hormones, he reached for her and pulled her to him, groaning as she resisted, drawing out what he thought to be the inevitable. Eris leaned towards him, upturning her face and looking at Aruna expectantly, while surreptitiously reaching for her chainsaw sword, which she had not dropped (it was the massive bludgeon of a sword that she had agreed to put down, knowing that this one would be best in close quarters). Aruna grinned and leaned down to her, his lips drawing ever closer to hers as Arano could only watch, envious of the treatment that Aruna was getting.

'_I was the one that overpowered her last time, so why is she going after Aruna? He always has more luck than I do,' _Arano seethed, his thoughts a blazing mix of anger and resentment, almost ready to cast a spell on the two just because he felt like it. He still owed Aruna for a few noogies…

It would be so easy to have a little fun, after all…

"**_OrZan Rom__!"_**he called out, grinning as a tornado of wind lanced out from his hands towards the almost-kissing couple. Oh what havoc that would cause, and what sweet—

His amusement turned to horror though, at what he saw next. Just before Eris' lips made contact with Aruna, she leaned in and kneed his character in the groin. The massive Tribal Grappler bent over, and Eris chose that moment to run him through with her chainsaw sword, calling out **_"Shell Breaker!", _**as she slammed her weapon through his lightly armored form and revved it up.

Due to the very poor defense of the Tribal Grappler class, Aruna took heavy damage from this, and his HP plummeted down into the red…just enough for powered up twister to rip apart his character.

_Now this is more like it…the Idiot Duo turning on one another!_ Eris crowed in her head, sadistic smile replacing the look of mock-passion she had been wearing before.

"Thank you for killing your friend for me, Warlock. Now its my turn to play!"

She leapt for him, throwing her chainsaw sword in his direction, which he ducked to avoid, barely missing the whirring barbs upon the blade. But if he thought that she was now disarmed…he was wrong. With a stunning display of speed, she dashed over to where she had dropped her other blade, the Broad Maiden, diving into a roll and picking it up as she recovered.

_What sweet justice it will be using a 'maiden' to slay this pervert newbie-helper and meddler!_

"**_Tiger Blitz!"_** she cried, rushing at the Shadow Warlock, her first blow catching him by surprise. As he reeled back, Eris pulled back her sword and struck the ground near him, unleashing a shockwave and flinging Arano into the air.

_And to add to the irony, lets kill the magician with magic!_

"_**Fire Storm! Twin Moons!"**_

Momentarily stunned, Arano could do nothing but scream as his character was engulfed by the quickly descending burst of fire, before being mercifully cleaved in two by the blade of a wrathful PK.

Landing on the ground once again, Eris grinned at her accomplishment. She had gotten her revenge against the meddlers and grown much stronger…surely her reputation as a Chaotic PK would now be spread, and she would drink of their fears and respect as a Queen of Battle.

She took what recovery potions she needed and looked out on the battlefield. There was nothing here for her now, since she had already gotten what she wanted out of this experience, everything except—

Movement in the distance, someone coming this way. The swishing of blue hair. The androgynous form of a Blade Brandier. Murderous rage welled up in Eris' breast, and she gripped her broadsword more tightly. She would be needing it in just a while.

_That's…the Blade Brandier Endrance, the one who insulted me. What fortune that I will be able to kill him as well!_

Confident in her abilities, she strode towards him aggressively, fully intending to wipe him off the face of The World, a fate that she would in time dole out to all bluenettes! But the Blade Brandier took no notice of her, brushing past as if she were but an insignificant speck of dirt…and if there was anything that this PK hated more than pity, it was being ignored.

"Look at me, you weakling! Look upon the great Eris, Bringer of Strife!" she shouted at him, daring him to turn and look at her.

The Blade Brandier kept on walking, without a moment of hesitation.

"Yeah, that's right, run away. That's all you are, a weakling too afraid to face me. Anyone can see that. I'm sure that's why you're all alone too…no one will have you. No one would ever love a weakling, not even a fake girl online!"

Apparently, that had hit a sore note for the cold warrior, as Endrance paused, turning around and looking with contempt upon one he considered just another ugly doll, one who could not compare to the one that he lost.

"To love someone…it is not to shut one's eyes to the other, nor to block one's ears to the truth, ugly doll."

Eris had had enough, and raised her sword to attack…but before she could strike, she was dead by means of a mysterious instant kill technique. Endrance had simply disappeared for a moment before reappearing, and walking onwards. But Eris' was not left unchanged…her character data was fragmented, breaking up into a thousand pieces, and as she faded from the field, she heard three words carelessly tossed to her in the wind.

"…just a doll…"


	11. Login 04b: Midwinter's Shadow

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Midwinter's Shadow **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

A crossover between the worlds of .hack and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Set in early 2015, shortly after the defeat of the fourth angel. CC Corporation, creator of the ALTIMIT OS and the internationally popular MMORPG "The World" has recently recovered from a disastrous fire at their headquarters in Osaka-2, which destroyed most of their game data. Newly released is The World: R2, and to ensure that it becomes popular, several thousand individuals around the world were selected as part of the Renaissance Project, the first wave of new players.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes written word

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

**

* * *

Apartment 402, Tokyo-3**

An empty apartment should be silent, shouldn't it? If not that, then quiet, with allowances made for the low buzzing of electricity running through wires, or the _thrum-thump-bump_ of appliances creaking towards old age. At the very least, it should not be reverberating with the rumbling crashes of construction equipment, creating a veritable symphony of cacophonous aural pollution that even the pre-Impact traffic of Los Angeles would envy.

Still, even with the entirety of the racket, one could still hear faint sounds from the hallway. _Click-click-click_. Silence. _Click-click-click_. It was ethereal, but still very much present, and it was steadily approaching, as well, until at last there was silence once more. _Cli—creak! _The door swung open, drawn in by an unseen cold hand upon rusty hinges, framing the figure of one Rei Ayanami in the archway. Her cold red eyes looked away into the hazy distance, unreadable even by those who had known her for quite some time, if indeed, anyone had really known her.

She padded into the apartment and closed the door behind her, moving with a sort of lithe precision towards the lone chair and computer in room. But behind the mask, trapped inside a cage made of glass, her mind swirled in patterns, rife with strange feelings held captive in the cold and icy night.

The day had been rather…different than usual, with several unexpected twists. First, there had been a new transfer student, who also looked rather odd. While Rei was not one to judge others based on appearance, she did know that silver hair and golden eyes was nowhere near human norms. Then, too, there had been a new teacher, one who seemed to shun the traditional teachings on Second Impact (for which she was indifferent, seeing as she knew the truth behind the event and only looked out the window anyway), seeming instead to have a great interest in psychology of all things.

_The terms she used…the Terror of Death, the Mirage of Deceit, the Propagation…for some reason, they seem oddly familiar…_

Or at least they had seemed familiar enough to the transfer student, who had appeared rather uncomfortable with the way that Aranami-sensei had characterized those phases in the Epitaph as being part of one's personality. Had Hakubo-san had a bad experience with the teacher in the past? Or perhaps this was somehow related to some of the rumors that had swirled on the message boards of The World?

It was certainly curious, The World. A place where one could be someone completely different from one's identity in this reality, and apparently a place where most of class 2-A visited. She supposed that the human urge to flee from pain was responsible for this, but if so, was it really effective? The World was rife with PKs and rather…eccentric individuals, people who would only cause pain to others in the end. Escapism in that sense, did not work.

And yet…and yet in playing The World, Rei had found herself with a greater spectrum of the human condition to experience, along with interesting questions as to real world identities. That had only been revisited when the quiet bluenette had been approached by another student during lunch, which was unusual in itself. But what was oddest of all was that the other - Reimeiki Hakubo – had launched into an explanation of what The World was to her that was eerily close to her view of Eva.

_Bonded to a game? For what purpose? And how would this game bond someone to all people? Unless…_

She shook her head ever so slightly. It was not possible that the transfer student could be another artificial soul, despite her strange appearances. No other organization on the planet had the resources, and if they did, the commander would have put a stop to it.

_I would have thought it impossible, but…_

Uncharacteristically, her thoughts trailed off, unwilling to pursue that avenue of speculation. She knew that she was replaceable, but it was impossible for more than one vessel to be active at once. And further, the other was not quite like her, though there was a sense of…oddness drifting about her.

_Who am I? I am Ayanami Rei. Who is Ayanami Rei? Zero, nothing, spirit…bonded to all humanity. But in The World, I am called Skadi…who am I there?_

Her lips twitched almost imperceptibly, but whether it was up or down, no one could really tell. Her book bag slid off of her shoulder and onto the floor as she padded onwards to where her workstation glimmered with light, perhaps the one clean spot in the apartment. Sitting down on the merely functional chair, she booted up the contraption and slid the headset over her head.

Not for the first time, she wondered exactly why had she chosen a character that looked so much like her? Most people chose something radically different from what they looked like in real life, after all, and while others might think she would just stick with the default appearance, she had modified it to reflect herself, based on something else Lt. Ibuki had told her.

"You are your own person in The World. Define who you are, and what you are, without letting your identity in reality confine you," she had said. Why then, had Ayanami Rei simply chosen a mirror of her real world self? Well, besides the fact that she didn't like the color red, which had first been suggested as a color scheme for her character. But then, there was no time for thought as her consciousness shifted to the streets of Mac Anu.

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu **

A golden cascade of light burst into existence before the Chaos Gate, fading to reveal a pale figure clad in a midnight blue yukata, crimson eyes glinting in the light of dusk, as a gentle breeze ruffled her mop of azure hair. Her war fans were held loosely in her hands, though at a moment's notice, she could unfold them and strike with deadly precision, if necessary. But for now, she glanced around, hesitating for a moment on where to go and what to do. Without orders, she preferred a routine, but without even routine to guide her?

It was…puzzling to consider her assignment from school. The new teacher, Aranami-sensei, was apparently well versed in psychology and literature, a far cry from the old one, not that it made a difference to her. But there had never been a teacher who would simply assign work of such a free-form nature, without as much as a hint of direction. And as Ayanami Rei was not used to making decisions on her own outside of what was required, Skadi found this new medium was both fascinating and disturbing, all at once.

Since there was one bit of structure that had been provided (extra points for specifying point in the Epitaph), perhaps she should just visit the Arche Kloen Falls? She had been there before, and it _was _where power all to droplets had been turned. Tilting her head in thought, she nodded once and turned to the Gate, intending to leave when—

A ping sounded.

No, not the note of A in C major that so often accompanied the arrival of most AIs. Instead, it was the higher pitched tone that indicated the arrival of flash mail.

"_From: _unknown

_To: Skadi_

_Subject: Lost Ground_

_You know of the riddles of The World, shadowed one. Perhaps you will find what you seek at _**_Θ__ Hidden Forbidden Dragonbein, _**_the Keel Mountains of Briona Gwydion. May the blessing of the Twilight Dragon be with you."_

Skadi's eyes narrowed upon reading this message. Several things bothered her about it, but what stood out most was: who had sent her this message? No one knew her member address, and for that matter, messages couldn't be sent anonymously, though this one obviously had been. Was Lt. Ibuki somehow manipulating things inside the game to fit some sort of scenario?

There was no way to find out except to comply with the directions, so with a shake of her head, Skadi made ready for gateout once more, only to be interrupted by the gate-in of a figure that seemed almost…familiar to her.

_This player looks like me. But why? And who would choose this appearance? Someone in class 2-A?_

She studied the other figure's character design intently, finding that for most purposes, it was a male copy of her with longer hair, as two sets of crimson eyes met. The other seemed uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny, fidgeting and trying to look away, but failing.

It was unlikely that Skadi would gain any answers from simply observing though, so she gated away, leaving behind only the word "Curious."

* * *

**Θ**** Hidden Forbidden Dragonbein**

A fractured sky blighted by ominous gray clouds loomed over the stone bridges and spires of the Dragonbein Range, the Keel Mountains. It was dim, and though there was a measure of light, it was difficult to say for sure whether it was dusk or dawn, only that the twilight was nigh.

A golden flare rent the darkness for a moment, erupting into brilliance before fading out to reveal the Macabre Dancer Skadi, fans held poised in a ready position as her eyes darted about, seeking to identify any threats to her person. Not seeing any, she relaxed slightly, her gaze coming to rest on an immense sculpture of a dragon perched atop one of the towers on the range.

From the direction of the stone beast issues a soft sing-song whisper, quoting a section from the Epitaph:

"_Over the Keel Mountains,_

_Meets an ape with human speech._

_The ape asks,_

_"What clings to you?_

_Bear it—you cannot._

_Accept it—you cannot._

_But hidden—it is from you._

_Recite its name."_

Skadi remembered this passage from earlier in the day as one of the riddles that the students had been quizzed on.

"The general answer would be the name of my shadow, my dark side," she murmured, before answering in a normal, flat tone.

A few second after she had spoken, a low melodic chuckle came as a response, along with the shrill whistle of a blade through the air as a figure leapt off a high parapet, somersaulted forward and landed gracefully upon the stone road before her. This one wore a loose flowing white dress with a blue underskirt, and carried with her a rather deadly looking weapon, a scythe like a demon's claw.

Her pale, and not so unfamiliar face sported the sigil of darkness and a feral grin that distorted her features, framed by two long streaming pigtails of lustrous black hair.

"So you know the Epitaph, do you, Skadi? I suppose I can spare you for a few moments then…so nice to finally know the name of the Macabre Dancer who helped that Edge Punisher to kill me the other day."

The words of the Flick Reaper were tinged with a slight bit of malice, as if at any moment, she might burst into action, using her demon's claw scythe to attack the comparatively smaller girl before her.

"No doubt you heard my name when last we met, for in The World, I am Tomoyami of the Shadow, a far cry from my role in life as—"

"—Hikari, the light, keeper of order...the class representative of 2-A," said Skadi quietly, as everything around the pair became still, so much so that the passage of a single drop of water might well have been cause for alarm.

Then the moment shattered, and the pig-tailed Flick Reaper lurched backward, reeling with shock and discomfiture at the mention of her offline identity. She brought up her scythe, holding it shakily in one hand even as her thoughts darted about frantically, trying to figure out how this random Macabre Dancer could possibly know her name…or worse, her role in real life.

Skadi took a step towards Tomoyami, a move that was met with a backwards shuffling of feet and the non-verbal threat of an interposed scythe, causing her to halt and raise her eyebrows.

"This is unnecessary," said the blue-haired Macabre Dancer. "I mean you no harm."

"Then what do you want?" quavered the once PK, shaken, yet still brisling with a sense of anger. She was obviously uncomfortable with the situation, yet somehow knowing that fleeing the scene would do no good, at least not until she resolved the quandary before her: how her identity had been revealed. True, her famous quip of introduction might have given away her name, but only someone who knew…wait.

_If Skadi knows my identity, then she most likely knows me in real life, and there is only one person who looks like that in real life: Ayanami Rei, who some have called the "ice maiden." Ice…winter…Skadi, Goddess of Winter. She knows that I play "The World" from our lunchtime conversation. _

All at once, a touch of arrogance graced her features as she straightened up and planted the butt of her halberd upon the ground. There was no reason to fear, only reason to put on another face, as Tomoyami did every day of her life…_or as we all do, day by day._

"What do you want?" she repeated, eyes narrowing. "Why do you keep following me, and what do you want, Ayanami Rei?"

There. She had said it. Now all that remained was to see how the other would reply.

To her disappointment, the azure-haired Skadi simply looked at her blankly, crimson eyes betraying nothing as she remained in place. No…_there_. A momentary look of surprise flickered across Skadi's face quickly enough that Tomoyami would have missed it if she hadn't been concentrating intently upon the mysterious Macabre Dancer.

Again, there was only the whistling of the errant wind through the crags of the Keel Mountains, until at last, the sound of metal sliding on fabric broke the uneasy calm.

"I am not Rei Ayanami," were the words that Skadi spoke, even as her war fans unfolded in her hands, their razor sharp tips glinting in the sun.

The tables had turned once again, so that now Tomoyami was no longer on the defensive, meaning that she was in the far more preferable position of control. Her scythe, instead of glinting, seemed to draw in all light around it, as she poised herself to attack.

"Oh, you're not, are you?" she demanded, voice laced with a sense of feral glee as she advanced. "Then who are you?"

The Flick Reaper lunged forward, attempting to sweep the Macabre Dancer off of her feet (and assuredly not in a good way) and force her to submit. But with a _**clang!**_, Skadi's war fans were shown to be somewhat more substantial than they had appeared.

"…I am Skadi," managed the bluenette with gritted teeth, as she pushed back against Tomoyami's attack. "In The World…I am SKADI!"

Now perhaps that was not an actual shout, but compared to her usually even and sometimes difficult to hear voice, it was more than enough to give the seeming of such. Yet, Tomoyami was not satisfied with this answer, and pressed her attack.

"And when not in The World?" she asked, failing to notice a single note playing in the background: A in C Major.

A crackling silvery-gold sphere manifested itself, slamming itself down upon the ground between the two combatants and erupting into a brilliant explosion of light that sent both the Flick Reaper and the Macabre Dancer reeling backwards. When they recovered from their stumble, they willed themselves to look into the light as it faded to reveal a small silver-haired Harvest Cleric, wielding a powerful looking staff and dressed in robes like the sea.

Before anyone else could make a move, the young Cleric bowed to each of the two and introduced himself.

"Rumor might have expected that you would be here, Eternal Darkness and Goddess of Winter. Put down your weapons. I come in peace, with greetings from Lady Tsukinoki, once known Helba, Queen of the Dark."

Two sets of eyes narrowed, both at the unexpected appearance of the spell-caster, and of the reference to Helba.

_The Queen of the Dark…from the Epitaph?_ was the thought that went through both of their minds, one of the few that would do so. At the same time, both continued to hold their weapons in readiness, not entirely sure about the trustworthiness of the stranger that had appeared before them. They shared a glance, and Skadi gave a brief nod to Tomoyami.

"You speak of the Epitaph, or at least one from it," voiced the pig-tailed PK. "How do you know of it?"

"I have been a part of The World since it was born, and the Epitaph is the story behind The World. As for Helba, rumor has it that she is more than simply a name from the Epitaph. She was once a dothacker."

It was Skadi's turn to show a hint of confusion upon her refined features.

"…a dothacker?" she inquired, brows knitted together in thought.

"Yes, a dothacker. One of those who fought against the Cursed Wave."

"The Wave? That is merely a legend, a tale from an epic poem about the human mind!" exclaimed Tomoyami.

For once in his existence, Rumor held no trace of amusement in his eyes, regarding both of the PCs with an intensity that bordered on terrifying.

"It is far more than a tale," he whispered icily. "Rumor says that it is an understanding of human nature, yes, but that it is also the story of the past, when the goddess was born. The dothackers were heroes in time of Twilight, a time that is coming again, with shadows reborn from the Void that threaten this World, my bond."

"…your bond?" questioned Skadi, now gazing intently upon the Harvest Cleric, meeting his stare in order to try and elicit a response.

"My bond to all who dwell in either world, to all life," Rumor smoothly replied, though his face remained dark in nature. "Dark times come, and rumors spread of the coming of a new threat. If you would seek a purpose, seek to be a dothacker, and save this world from shadows born of error."

Naturally, both Skadi and Tomoyami were, to say the least, slightly skeptical of this.

"Dark times?" asked one.

"Shadows born of error?" asked the other.

In response, Rumor closed his eyes, intoning the prophecy of Fidchell, also of the Epitaph:

"_Like a frenzied horse that is driven._

_An unseen wind of plague shrieks across the border._

_Pandemonium, wailing, and stench of carnage fills the air._

_There is no place to run. No hope of escape._

_Those who are mourned will never return._

_The hands of time cannot be turned back."_

Upon finishing, he tapped his staff upon the ground, and A in C Major sounded the blue-clad Harvest Cleric formed once again into a sphere of crackling silver-gold, vanishing from the field. In his wake was utter stillness, with even the howling winds falling silent.

Strangely enough, it was Skadi that spoke first, putting away her war fans:

"This is…odd. I do not understand this information."

While Tomoyami would normally have taken advantage of the sudden opening to attack, this time, she was herself rather dazed by the brief appearance of the Harvest Cleric, what he had said, and all the questions he left in his wake.

"How did you find this place?" the Flick Reaper asked, more curious than anything else now, as it was unlikely that out of all the fields in The World, the two would have ended up meeting once again.

"…a Flash Mail from an unknown source—"

"—that instructed you to go to the Keel Mountains."

"Hai," murmured Skadi, now looking at Tomoyami with more interest. _Had she been summoned here too?_

"It was the same for me," noted the dark haired girl, looking out over the mountain range. "Do you think that that Harvest Cleric had anything to do with it?"

"Hai."

"Can you think of a reason?"

"…Perhaps he was ordered to."

"By the Queen of the Dark?"

"Hai."

"But isn't she just a—" Tomoyami silenced herself at the sharp look from Skadi, reluctantly agreeing to her silent insistence. "The Epitaph is too complex and is referenced too many times to merely be a story."

An awkward stillness again until Skadi asked at last:

"What is our purpose here?"

"Presumably, we were needed to fight against a threat and restore order to The World…Ayanami-san."

The bluenette seemed a bit more uncomfortable this time, and suggested the most logical option.

"Perhaps a truce then…Horaki-inchou."

The Flick Reaper winced at the mention of her last name and role, hastily nodding in acquiescence to Skadi's suggestion, and extending her hand.

"A truce then…Skadi"

Skadi looked down hesitantly and took the pro-offered hand in her own, shaking it firmly.

"So be it, Tomoyami."

A quick set of two pings, as member addresses were exchanged, and the two gated out of the field, leaving the mountains alone with the sound of the wind.

* * *

_**A/N**_: My apologies about not posting an update for so long. Other obligations have kept me from having the necessary time to create something of decent quality. Here's the latest chapter, so please R&R! Thanks for reading.


	12. Logout 03: Unforseen Consequences

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Unforeseen Complications**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Dead Wood – Dead World of Indieglut Leigh**

_Drip-drip-drip _was the sound of water falling from the roof of the dark cavern into the vast underground lake that took up most of the interior. It was rather dank, with stale air and a sense of overwhelming age, which was, after all, about right for the entrance to the underworld where the God of Death was sealed. Shadows lived at the edges of the grotto, and one could almost think that this was a place that knew nothing but gloom—at least until one's eyes fell upon the Tree of Light at the very center.

A golden spiral of light shimmered into existence, vanishing a moment later to reveal the presence of a statuesque blond with severe features, eyes hidden behind a red visor trimmed with gold: Tsukinoki, Queen of the Dark, expert hacker, and a most powerful Harvest Cleric. Her flowing white dressed glowed eerily in the light of the great tree, and she turned her head about slowly, taking in the place that she found herself in.

"_Light's great tree doth fall…" _she murmured, quoting from the Epitaph of Twilight. In the Epitaph, this place had been destroyed by the coming of the Cursed Wave, and so, perhaps it was appropriate, or at the very least, ironic that she had come here to this place that reminded her of the past, when a new Wave, of sorts, was forming. Then, too, it reminded her vaguely of the depiction of the Tree of Life in a certain other cavernous chamber in the real world, though she had to suppress a laugh at the sight of orange sunglasses, as those reminded her of something that Piros might have once worn.

But that was a long time ago, and no matter how…amusing Piros might prove to be, she did not want to deal with him if possible. According to her sources, the man was still rather over the top, to put it extremely mildly. Still, those made for interesting memories of the past, though those brought to mind times of strife as well.

Needless to say, having fought against the Wave on the front lines of the Twilight Incident, Tsukinoki was wary of what was to come. And to make things worse, it seemed that her contacts were going to be late—had something intercepted them? They were some of the most powerful PCs in The World, and very little could detain them, as they could simply travel through the data grid if necessary.

A flick of her wrist, and a staff like none other materialized in her grip, just as a tone sounded. Upon hearing this (A in C Major, as expected), the Harvest Cleric visibly relaxed, her gaze moving expectantly to the far corners of the cave, as three spheres of smoky light emerged from the walls, smashing themselves to the ground to reveal what seemed like a set of triplets.

Out of one orb emerged Melchior, Steam Gunner, wearing the light chain mail and robes characteristic of that class (with choice of white in both), bayonet held at her side, dark brown hair pulled back into a bun. Out of another came Balthasar, a Macabre Dancer class, dressed in a blue and white formal kimono, hair uncased, flowing like water cascading over cliffs down her back. And the third…well, the third was Casper, an Edge Punisher with chestnut colored hair streaked with blond, held in a braid that fell to the small of her back. She wore scanty white leather armor that barely covered the essentials, and exuded a sort of sensual grace the others didn't have.

Together, they were the Obsidian Knights, created to serve the Queen of the Dark and assist her in monitoring The World.

"_And Helba, Queen of the Dark has raised finally her army…"_ Tsukinoki said out loud, allowing herself a hint of amusement. Then all humor was driven from her voice as she noted the state of her servants.

While two were in nominal condition, one was extremely battered, with code fragments evaporating from her cybernetic shells as if something were slowly consuming them from without. Apparently, something had gone terribly wrong, either with her programming, or…_she had been data drained._

If there was one thing that sorcerer queen had learned in her many years, it was not to jump to conclusions, so quickly, she intoned her next words. "Approach and report, then return to regeneration. You first, Melchior."

The three moved as one entity towards their Queen, each approaching with total silence, going down on one knee out of respect for their creator. The Steam Gunner rose to her feet and looked at her creator evenly, reciting the events that had preceded this meeting.

"As per instructions, I was performing routine surveillance upon restricted areas of The World, including the rooms left behind by the creator. Two unknown players had been detected along with the signature of Artificially Intelligent Data Anomalies, and I moved to observe, complying with orders not to intervene unless AIDA became aggressive. But then—ackkk!"

Melchior fell silent, speaking seeming to become a strain to her as her vessel decayed, virtual muscles in her body spasming in pain. But Tsukinoki needed to hear the rest of the report, so she brought her staff gently down upon the Steam Gunner's shoulder, with the sound of frantic typing heard in the background. A golden rippling spread out from where the Cleric 's wand had touched, and the rate of corrosion attenuated slightly, enough to allow her to continue.

"Tri-edge," she gasped out. "AIDA hostile. Infected Epitaph User. Ovan. Corbenik. Pked Aina. Lost One. Shadowless. Intervention failed. Attacked by Tri—"

Tsukinoki's intervention had not been enough, and the Steam Gunner's PC crumbled into fragments of digital data, cut off towards the end of her report. The gist had been clear enough…an AIDA had become aggressive towards human players and had infected a player, and not only that, but an Epitaph Wielder as well, who had then proceeded to turn another player into a…Lost One. She wasn't sure exactly what that was, but from what she knew of the Phases, it wasn't good.

_Most likely a coma,_ she thought, watching as Melchior disappeared into the air. Her lips set in a thin line…the Twilight Incident was repeating itself, despite her precautions…and it now wielded the power of the greatest of phases.

_Rumor was more right than he knew when he quoted from the Epitaph regarding Corbenik emerging from the Void, and the Wave being just the beginning._

She then turned to the two remaining Obsidian Knights, her face grim, voice still calm and collected, though tinged with some anger.

"Ensure that Melchior has entered the regeneration coffin. Then continue your observation of The World, adapting yourselves to deal with aggressive AIDA."

Balthasar and Casper rose to their feet, bowing low before their creator and disappearing, leaving Tsukinoki alone with her thoughts.

After they vanished, the Harvest Cleric stood perfectly still for a long while, looking upon the Tree of Light, as if that would provide her with some measure of inspiration for what to do next. Those fools of CC Corp…if only they had never revived the Phases and joined them with PC data…though something told her that it would take a power akin to them to defeat the new threat to both worlds.

_Data drain would most undoubtedly work to destroy an isolated AIDA, and possibly to extract an AIDA from a player as well. As unwilling as I am to accept it, I may have to harness the power of the Phases myself in order to deal with these anomalies, especially as the Rebirth has been infected._

She paused for a moment, remembering the final battle of the Twilight, where Corbenik had been defeated, and The World reborn into a new age.

_Corbenik's power…The Rebirth. Through its destruction, The World may be reborn into a new age_…_but it was only destroyed through the sacrifice of the Goddess of the Dawn. We do not have that now, thus the only recourse is to find the other Phases, and possibly any remnants of Data Drain remaining to us._

The battles to come would possible be even more difficult than ever before, as the AIDA seemed to work as a collective, and their apparent leader had assimilated the cybernetic distinctiveness of the greatest of Phases.

_The Wave comes once again…_

Again, the familiar tone sounded, and this time it was a sphere of crackling silver-gold that appeared, melting away to reveal the form of Rumor. With a bow to Tsukinoki, he quickly related the incident that had just occurred, so that a flicker of a smile made its way across the Queen of the Dark's lips.

"Rumors have been planted as a seed of purpose. The Winter has been informed of events in The World, and prophecy comes. Though there was another there…"

"Worry not of the Shadow. And thank you, Rumor," the Sorceror-Queen sighed. "Continue as you have in The World, and for now, be at peace, my friend. Assist my Knights if they need it, but otherwise, simply do as you will."

Rumor nodded, though he tilted his head in concern as he looked at Tsukinoki.

"Are you well, my Queen?"

Tsukinoki only shook her head.

"The shadows have been spreading into the secret rooms, and the Wave indeed returns. From the Void comes Corbenik along with shadow, and this time, the Goddess is gone. Wait, her daughter said that she—find the Goddess, and ask for her help."

She shook her head and logged out, a flurry of golden rings marking her disappearance, leaving Rumor alone at the foot of the Tree of Light. The young Harvest Cleric remained there for a time, contemplating the difficulty of his Queen's last command. To find the Goddess in The World's sea of data would be difficult, but rumor had it that it could be done, and who was he if not Rumor? Moments later he nodded, vanishing into the aether in preparation for his new task.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Maya's Apartment**

Maya Ibuki pulled the Face Mount Display goggles from her head and set them down upon her desk with an audible _clatter_. Willing herself to remain reasonably calm, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. The afternoon had gone well enough, with some analyses of the 4th Angel's remnants being finished up (though as always, Error 601 had continued to pop up), and her 'sempai' finally going home, which left her with free rein over the MAGI for a few hours.

She had used that time to catch up on current events, keeping mostly to not-so-terribly classified documents, though a restricted area had caught her eye, mostly due to the clearances needed to get to it. That area on the MAGI could normally only be accessed with either the Commander's or Dr. Akagi's authorization…not even the Director of Operations had been given clearance. Of course, the fact that she had far too many scruples might be one of the reasons for that, but Maya liked to believe that perhaps there was another reason. She would have to take a look at those files herself sometime, but today had not been that time.

Instead, while sipping on a wonderfully hot mug of coffee, she had accessed some surveillance reports on the Children and the school, noting with interest three things: the appearance of the girl that Shinji had run into this morning, the unexpected change in instructors (she had cringed upon hearing a sample of the off-key celebratory singing of the old sensei), and the fact that the new textbook for class 2-A had been logged as the _**Epitaph of the Twilight**_.

Any one of those alone might have been an isolated occurrence, insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Any two, a coincidence, though verging into the realm of implausibly so. But all three at once implied that there was something deliberate at work here.

While it amused her to see Shinji's interactions with the girl he had run into (and had apparently groped, according to Section 2), what had caught her interest was that she bore a striking resemblance to Lycoris, the forerunner of Aura, with silver tresses, alabaster skin, and golden eyes to match. It was as if someone has aged the young girl she had known in Net Slum by a few years and brought her into this world, as unlikely as it seemed.

She had filed that bit of information away and moved onto the next, which involved the sudden retirement of the old one and the coming of a young woman who apparently held a degree in psychology. The picture on file…was one that looked much like Aura, except that this woman was older, with flowing black tresses and purple eyes…eyes that had somehow reminded her of Corbenik.

_Nonsense, _she had told herself. _The stress must be getting to me…or I must need some stronger coffee. Maybe a quad-expresso would help next time._

Maya dismissed it at first, until her eyes fell upon a certain symbol on the flowing black and purple gown that "Yumi Aranami" (whose name meant "Sea" and "Broken Wave") had worn: the infinity symbol. Now, infinity was by no means a common design brooch, but she had seen it on several beings before, chief among them being Aura and Lycoris.

And while she had been taking in that piece of information skeptically, the filed lesson plans and textbook had almost literally jumped out at her. Yumi Aranami was going to be teaching psychology based on the "Epitaph of Twilight" (even going so far as to have complete copies made into hard copies…and Maya knew that the only full version of the Epitaph had resided inside The World in one of the secret areas), using The World as an interactive model.

The Queen of the Dark had shaken her head in disbelief and packed up for the day, preparing to go home. Makoto and Aoba, on the other hand, had plans to go to a karaoke bar that night, along with Dr. Akagi and unsurprisingly, Misato Katsuragi. They invited her along, as they thought it would be good for her to "get out more" and be more comfortable dealing with people. If only they knew who she really was…both of them, especially the one who had worked for her in the past, would have been quite surprised.

Instead, she had gone home and logged into The World, visiting Net Slum for a bit to talk with Tartarga, who informed her about the return of the Goddess' sister, a fact that she had confirmed for herself. Then she had sent Rumor to check up on Rei, though not before noting that one of the members of class 2-A that had been seen with her at lunch also played The World, one who might hold some promise. A few flashmails had gone out and then…

Well, everything had led up to now, with this new threat upon The World. If it were up to her, children would not have to fight, would not have to bear the weight of the world upon

Perhaps she would take the other Bridge Bunnies up on their offer of drinks and karaoke after all…


	13. Logout 04: Quirks of Fate

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Quirks of Fate  
**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Back Table, Unnamed Karaoke Bar, Tokyo-3**

Of all the places one might have expected to find a former goddess, a karaoke bar with plenty of available alcohol probably wasn't one of them. Unless of course, this was a Norse tale, which Morganna told herself that it most decidedly was not, though her backstory may have been based on those old myths. And yet, there she was, seemingly the Morrigan herself as her eyes surveyed the area about her like a queen watching over her domain. She supposed that it was force of habit, since the roles that she had played in her many years of experience tended to involve leadership or dominion in one form or another, whether in plotting strategy, attempting to overthrow her creator's will, or (now) as a homeroom teacher.

Aye, a homeroom teacher. How the mighty had fallen, eh? Though Morganna supposed that she enjoyed her new job well enough…her position was secure, after all, and the teens that she had been assigned to teach were almost as easy to manipulate as Tsukasa had been.

_But perhaps that was not quite the best example_, she mused, wincing at that particular memory. She remembered how the young Wavemaster had dared to defy her will, leaving The World and waking Aura, the one who had replaced her as Goddess of The World. This, of course, had led to the event known under several different names as the Twilight Incident, Pluto Again, and the Second Network Crisis. Morganna had…not quite been herself during those times, having displayed the very fears that she had observed numerous times in humans, especially the one called the Terror of Death.

Thus, she had remade herself in the image of the Cursed Wave, twisting programs originally designed to collect data on human emotions and reactions and imbuing them with portions of her own data to try to capture Aura and halt her growth. Of course, her realm suffered from this corruption of her original purpose, with data bugs and virus cores scattered across the fields of The World, but at the time, she had been blinded to these consequences by the need to prevent the Ultimate AI from coming to fruition.

Morganna shook her head and winced again, watching a group of people get up on stage and make fools of themselves, their voices sonorous and decidedly off-key. Watching the antics of the Tsukasa party and the so-called dothackers as they had attempted to fight against her had been more amusing…at first.

But inevitably would come defiance, and somehow, despite not being quite as fast or as strong as her avatars, they had come out on top. She had been killed once, killed and recompiled, with her task completed and nothing left to do. Granted some fragments of her had wandered The World for a time, but then had come a crisis that dwarfed anything she had been involved in, sending her through realities until she arrived where she was now, gaining a body in the process.

Now she was a tall, statuesque woman standing about 5'11", with flowing purple-black tresses and ethereal violet eyes that seemed to shimmer in dimness. She had also rather taken to wearing black, as it accented her severe features quite well. Apparently, this had worked to her advantage, as her physical attractiveness did seem to help keep her students attentive these days. Well, all but Lycoris, who knew her quite well from old days in The World, and remembered Morganna's persecution of other AIs very clearly, and the blue haired Rei Ayanami, who seemed much more an observer of humanity.

All in all though, the first day had gone quite well, with the entire class thrilled to learn about Basic Psychology and the Epitaph of Twilight. That had been unexpected…though she supposed it was understandable enough when the last teacher (and his constant teaching on Second Impact) had been less exciting than watching paint dry. A little humiliation there, making an example of a student there, and _schadenfreude _came into play perfectly.

_The higher up it is dropped, the worse the crash will be. Hope is the best spice to bring out despair, _she thought, unknowingly repeating something she had said once. And in the context of the classroom, this was perhaps the best stratagem she could employ. Give her students that initial spark of hope, but then use The World as a means of control. They would learn far more than they had ever thought possible, and Morganna would know very well what they were doing.

After all, the fact that she had a human vessel and existed on this plane didn't mean that she had lost her touch with manipulation, whether of people or of data. Granted, she was upfront with Lycoris, who after all, knew her too well, and she was more repentant of what she had done in the past, but the ends still justified the means, for the most part.

So she had a job here, better mental stability than when she had deleted much of her own programming, and a means of amusement. Yet, she was still a little dissatisfied. There was something missing, though she couldn't pinpoint it specifically. She just knew that it was likely related to…_ah, yes…Helba._

Mental suffocation from lacking an opponent or colleague who matched her level of skill. No one to test her, to give her a challenge, except perhaps Lycoris, and anyway, she didn't really count. For the first time, this former Goddess of the World knew one of the greatest evils in existence: _boredom_.

_Now I begin to understand why people grew tired of The World and left, only here, they don't have that option. They merely go and do things that would otherwise be detrimental in order to forget for a while…_

Perhaps that was why she had agreed when her new co-workers had insisted that she join them for their weekly trip to a local karaoke bar, the need to forget and unwind. Was this typical of humans, in that they required something more than simply sustenance? Life was much like The World then, wasn't it, and those seeking to escape the ludicrous world that they found themselves in only managed to enter another hell of their own making.

_Of course, when you are not the one in control of the world, then instrumentality__is more difficult to achieve…_

Instrumentality, a curious word, and one she had run across in some of her reading since having taken human form. As she browsed the shelves of a bookstore (a rather archaic way to sift through information, though strangely pleasant), she had found herself drawn to the book "Instrumentality of Mankind", a paperback collection of short stories by the science-fiction author Cordwainer Smith. In that book, the Instrumentality in the quest for perfection on a post-nuclear-holocaust Earth, a situation that Morganna thought would fit this world fairly well.

_Though it would be far too ironic if there was some sort of Human Instrumentality Project, would it? Human seeking to escape pain and create perfection leading only to their own destruction. Oh well, we will have to see what my 'exploration of extant systems' allows me to find._

A tug on her sleeve jolted Morganna back to reality. One of her coworkers was making some sort of motion towards the stage and…_wait, they don't really expect me to get up in front of this crowd and—they do. _

She was beginning to understand this system of social humiliation, which only tended to work if one was slightly (and that was being generous) intoxicated. That explained why her ears were beginning to hurt from the poor quality of singing she was hearing, though she had likewise discovered, that like many things things named for Ireland, she had discovered a certain appreciation for alcohol, beginning to develop an understanding for why it was so commonly enjoyed by humans.

_It certainly has a bit of a buzz to it, and makes the bad singing just a bit more tolerable…_

Given that her co-workers did want 'the rookie' to go up and sing, Morganna found that she didn't have a choice. So she finished her glass and began moving from her table at the stage at the front. There was a little book of songs that she could choose from, but instead of making an effort to select one, she just flipped towards the back, the pages falling open to little known song by a composer known as Yuki Kajiura.

'_The World.' How…ironic. Well, at least in this little game I know that I'm not the best…_

She rolled her eyes and keyed the selection into the machine, getting up on the little platform and waiting for the music to start. Hearing the first few notes, she began:

"You are here alone again…"

**

* * *

**

**Outside Unnamed Karaoke Bar, Tokyo-3**

Maya had pulled into a parking space behind a bright blue Renault Alpine A310, noting with a raised eyebrow the skid marks burned onto the street.

_If this is what Captain Katsuragi drives like when she's sober, I would hate to see what she's like when she's drunk. Well, I've seen enough of that, but I meant in terms of driving…how does she handle the spin and speed without losing control?_

Of course, if the Captain happened to be perpetually buzzed, maybe she had built up a sort of immunity to it, though she didn't think it likely. The mere thought of it was making Maya feel a tad nauseous, and she wondered if her friends would make her get up in front of the crowd again.

_It would be just like them, though I wonder if they'll make me sing THAT song again, with Captain Katsuragi and Dr. Akagi._

The song in question had been "Cruel Angel's Thesis" by Yoko Takahashi, the popular theme song to an anime that had never really taken off. And it had been a song that the other techs asked for on every single other occasion, meaning that by now, the mere sound of it set her on edge.

Shaking her head, Maya entered the karaoke bar—and stopped dead in her tracks a moment later.

_I know that song. 'The World' by Yuki Kajiura…and the woman who is singing is Yumi Aranami, the new teacher of class 2-A. I think I almost recognize the voice…_

Obviously, Maya had her suspicions, since there had been just a few too many coincidences for her liking. But then, she couldn't just go up to the other and ask "Are you Morganna of The Cursed Wave?" now could she? This would require a bit of strategy, something that in her alternate role as Helba, would be almost expected.

_You sing well, but two can play at that game._

Thus, when the song ended and everyone was clapping, Maya caught the other woman's gaze and winked at her, something that might seem uncharacteristically bold of her. She noted that the other woman's table was on the way back to where her colleagues were, yet just out of sight, which might prove to be useful. And of course, her colleagues had not seen her yet, and it would be quite worth it so see the looks on their faces when they saw her quick stepping to the front of the stage.

As expected, there were a series of surprised gasps from a table in the corner, along with moan and a disappointed groan. Obviously, someone had just lost a bet, and she wouldn't have been surprised if it had been Makoto. He was a nice guy, and a decent hacker, to boot, but…his anime obsession did trouble her a little bit. Where had the old persona of Ichiro Sato gone? Then again, he didn't quite know her little secret either, so…she had no grounds to complain.

She reached the stage, and a few murmurs went up, as she tossed her head and risked a glance at Yumi Aranami, who turned away, having been caught looking. This brought a slight smile to her face, as Maya now knew she had the other woman's attention.

Glancing back at the book of song titles, she saw one that she knew very well indeed, one sure to elicit a reaction, if Yumi Aranami was indeed Morganna. Granted, this might seem a bit obvious, but it could all be coincidence, no? And even Morganna would have no idea who she was…she protected her offline identity far too well for that.

She keyed in her selection, as the name of the song flashed on-screen: "Key of the Twilight, by Yuki Kajiura."

As the music began, Maya noticed stiffening and narrowed eyes from the person of interest, and she allowed a smirk to come to her face.

_So…perhaps it is her after all…_

"Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for awhile…"

* * *

**Back Table, Unnamed Karaoke Bar, Tokyo-3**

Morganna watched with incredulity as the cute but somewhat mousy brunette who had winked at her walked to the stage and chose her song.

_Odd, she seems to be interested in me, poor human, but then, _she thought, and not a little vainly, _I am all the Phases rolled into one, including The Temptress. Wait…that title: 'Key of the Twilight'? And immediately after I chose 'The World'…could she know who I am…could she be a dothacker?_

Now, Morganna knew the offline identities of most of the dothackers, had, in fact, made it a point to find information on those who had defeated her, and this woman did not match anything of the records she had located. Nor did she match any of the appearances of the PCs either, though there was only one who had really been her equal, if Aura hadn't intervened by giving that boy Kite the Twilight Bracelet. The Queen of the Dark, the only character she had been able to find absolutely no information on.

_That hacker was indeed a queen of the dark. She slipped in and out, undetected, maintained her own server, kept me from being able to Data Drain Aura…while she infuriated me, if she was indeed a she, I would like a chance to meet my equal on this plane._

Of course, the brunette on stage would have been relatively young to be a master hacker, but then The World had a reputation for attracting some of the brightest.

_After all, Sora was only 10 years old, as powerful of a player as he was. He even had the nerve to try and betray me…I'm sure he learned all about the consequences of that after I made an example of him, but he left the system._

Then the music stopped and the woman on stage was cheered rather enthusiastically. But instead of going to join what seemed to be her peers at a table in the corner, she stayed up on stage and keyed in another selection. This time, when the title flashed on screen, with a triumphant flash in the brunette's eyes, Morganna felt like she had been punched in the gut.

'_Aura' by the same composer. Following 'Key of the Twilight.' Clever…exceedingly so. If I wasn't who I am, I would never have picked up on those clues…but since I am, I know that she knows. _

This song was definitely darker in tone, and again, it was a song that Morganna knew only too well. She had once sung it to Aura, long ago, when the Ultimate AI had been but an unborn child, sleeping in her isolated field in The World. And now, now those words were coming back to haunt her…

"…it does not much matter to me," Morganna whispered, just as Maya finished her song. Suddenly, she did not feel much like continuing this charade, but she couldn't exactly approach the woman with her suspicions either. She had a feeling that 'Helba', if that was indeed who this woman was, would not want to be called out in public, especially since hacking was in many cases punishable by death.

_A complex game, to be sure. I will have to wait for her to make the next move…_

The bridge technician took a bow as the others cheered her, and as Maya went back towards her seat, she muttered, barely loudly enough for Morganna to hear: "End of Land." But before "Yumi" could reply or acknowledge, the brunette was past, and at her table of co-workers.

Suddenly, Morganna had something else on her mind, as she was sure that there was a purpose to those words.

_The Epitaph. The End of Land, beyond the Keel Mountains. She must want me to meet her in The World…_

The rest of the night was practically a blur, as the usual small talk continued, with both Maya and Morganna mentally ticking down the seconds until re-entry.

* * *

**Sea of Data, The World – Accessible only via Data Grid**

Though Rumor knew that the Goddess Aura dwelt within The World, sleeping somewhere within its ocean of data, it was one thing to know this, and another entirely to have to find her. While the old World would have been more familiar to him, this new construct was a bit more difficult to navigate. Yes, the field system was the same (for the most part), but how it was put together behind what most could see was terrible.

No matter how he traveled, he could almost feel the eyes of the AIDA on him, trying to figure out what to make of him, and he knew that if he was infected, it would likely be the end of him. He had no outer self to return to…if he were data drained to remove the dark infection, he would most perish.

_Which is why this makes it all the more necessary for me to find the Goddess. I have already upset the Goddess' sister enough with my careless request, not quite knowing her history. And the Obsidian Knights are necessary to observe the AIDA and defend The World at need…_

Perhaps if he went to the Net Slums, but then, Aura wouldn't be there…would she? It wouldn't hurt to check, at least.

With the ever-familiar chime of A in C Major, Rumor wove his way out of the data grid, emerging with a flash of silver fire before the gate of Net Slum Tartarga, the city that rested upon the back of a giant turtle.

"Rumor had it that you were here, old friend. Tell me, has any information trickled to here of the whereabouts of the Goddess?"

An unusually direct answer rumbled from beneath him: "Look behind you."

The little boy with silvery hair and ocean-blue robes whirled about…only togo down on one knee at the sight of Aura, Goddess of The World. He could hardly believe it…after almost a year when no one had seen her, the Ultimate AI appeared to him.

"I am not worthy…" he trailed off, but looking up, he saw Aura shake her head and motion for him to get up.

"Rise, Rumor. We are all blessed in The World. Both you, and I," she said, a sad and enigmatic smile flitting across her face as she did. She knew what had happened to her world in the time that she had been away, and was troubled by it.

"My goddess, rumors have it that shadows born of error have come into The World and damaged those in it. As well, The Rebirth has returned, corrupted by the Shadow…perhaps the Wave was just a beginning."

Aura gravely nodded, being well aware of the threat of AIDA, and spoke thus: "I have looked upon The World and seen, but it is to the players to decide their destiny. However, I know of Helba's intervention, and so I will do as she did."

She raised her hands, as three columns of light emerged, forming into shapes that any who had been there during R1 would recognize. Three figures bound by history, bound by titles of the past. Rumor's eyes widened, for he recognized the forms of the legendary heroes of The World: R1.

There was a pale, stitched-together version of Kite, leader of the dot-hackers, surrounded by azure flames. In his hands were dual swords of immense power, triple bladed weapons called "Empty Skies."

Standing with him were feral versions of the two Descendants of Fianna, Orce of Azure Sea and Balmung of Azure Sky, wreathed in red and green, respectively. Both seemed…twisted, with this Balmung possessing broken, sticklike wings and a disturbed grin which showed his teeth to disturbing effect. His weapon was a wickedly curved sword, the "Empty Mirage." And this Orca, too hard been twisted, stitched together with more armor, wielding the powerful broadsword called "Empty Shadow."

Azure Flame Kite looked directly at Rumor and nodded gruffly, his bracelet becoming visible for just a moment as he did so.

"There are my Three Azure Knights, created from my memories of the past, and have the ability to heal corruption in The World. May this be enough, my friend…your destiny is in your hands."

With that, Aura faded away, as Rumor simply looked on, the Azure Knights transforming into their orbs of light and flying off to make patrols about The World.

* * *

**Maya's Apartment, Tokyo-3**

Some time after midnight, Maya Ibuki stumbled back into her apartment, somewhat fatigued. The evening had gone reasonably well, with the bridge bunnies and other of the NERV crew helping her to relieve her tensions for a bit. She had even gone up for a round of singing again, predictably enough with the song Cruel Angel's Thesis, though thankfully, it had not been as a group. Bets had been placed, and apparently her bold behavior upon walking into the bar had prompted some discussion, particularly among those who had never expected her to do so.

Just what had she been thinking, anyway, playing the game of coyness with someone who might well be the physical incarnation of the Cursed Wave? Correction, someone who probably was the physical incarnation of the Cursed Wave…she had responded in all the right ways, after all, which made Maya, if anything, more anxious to meet her. She had this…attraction and admiration for skill, one might say, which is why there were rumors flying about that she might have a crush on Dr. Akagi (and well, she was a consummate actress in addition to everything else, her time in The World having taught her well).

Even so, she had to know if her suspicions were correct, and if so, what "Yumi Aranami" intended. She was influencing the Evangelion pilot candidates to play The World, after all, and had quite a bit of access to them, as she was now their teacher.

_Only one way to be sure, I suppose…_

With that, Maya Ibuki picked up the Face Mount Display goggles from the desk and placed them over her head, bringing the computer back from standby mode as she did so. The World: R2 loaded immediately, and with only a moment of disorientation, she appeared as Tsukinoki in the place called Net Slum Tartarga.

In this place, her personal Root Town in The World, she was surprised to see Rumor, who rose to his feet upon seeing her.

"My Queen," he said, bowing. "I have made contact with Aura…"

"And? What have you found, Rumor?" she pressed gently.

"The players must determine their own fate," said the young boy, visibly deflating. "…but she did make one intervention. Based on your Obsidian Knights, she created three Azure Knights to fight AIDA and repair system anomalies."

Tsukinoki was silent for a minute, as a virtual wind picked up, rippling the hem of her dress.

"Azure. Kite of the Azure Flame, Balmung of the Azure Sky, and Orca of the Azure Sea?"

"Yes. Rumor has it that due to hasty construction, they do not look as they used to, but they are born of the Goddess' memory."

Tsukinoki nodded and closed her eyes but for a moment.

_Thank you, _she thought.

"Unfortunately, my friend, I must go. I have...a meeting to attend to that cannot wait. Be off with you now, and on with your purpose."

With that, Tsukinoki called out: **"Θ Hidden Forbidden Sacrement!" **and vanished from the field, Rumor heading off to where he was needed soon after.

* * *

**Θ Hidden Forbidden Sacrement - The Great Temple of Caerleon Medb**

Appearing in a golden shimmer of light, Morganna (for she did not hide her name in The World) surveyed her surroundings, finding it quite ironic that she had been called to this place, of all places.

The End of Land. The place beyond the Keel Mountains, through which the heroes of the Epitaph had trekked in their quest for the Twilight Dragon. Yet it was a place that called to her, where Lost Weapons, pieces of broken Phases, were housed…and as she was not an Epitaph User in this iteration of The World, there was no way that she could tap those powers.

In this new World, Morganna had unsurprisingly chosen the avatar of a Shadow Warlock, a feared sorceress clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses and dark violet eyes. And serving as the brooch of her dress was the infinity symbol, part of the past that she could never really get away from. In a way, she seemed almost a gothic version of Aura, which was understandable…

_Or like a mirror to the hacker Helba, though without the crown and visor, of course…_

Of course, she had thought to prepare, just in case this was a trap, finding the old data she had once used to create a Twilight Guardian, and updating it to the max stats of this version of The World. It even had a variant of Data Drain, compensating for her own lack of certain abilities that had at one point or another made her virtually omnipotent, though the ability here was fairly weak, much like the in the originals. She would not summon it unless she needed to, but it was good to have something just in case…

_And now the wait…if the woman who knows who I am will really appear at all._

Just then, a golden spiral of light cascaded down in the field, and a majestic, exceedingly familiar blond sorcerer-queen appeared onto the field. Wearing a white dress with purple wave markings, a gold-rimmed red visor, and a crown, while holding what seemed a Wavemaster's staff, the new arrival was instantly recognizable.

"Helba," said Morganna. "So the Queen of the Dark comes alone to find me."

"The new title is Tsukinoki, but Helba will do… …Morganna. Welcome to The World."

The Harvest Cleric's lips curled up into that characteristic smirk of hers, as she looked at the Shadow Warlock.

"Are you trying to be ironic, my dear enemy? Once, I _was_ The World."

There was a bit of venom behind that remark, as Morganna remembered all too well who had been the architect of the strategies against her, remembered how the Queen of the Dark had been the one to assist Kite in all of his doing.

"But no longer, are you? Now you are simply a PC here in The World, and a human elsewhere, like the rest of us," responded Tsukinoki.

"…Yes."

"Along with Lycoris, sister to the Ultimate AI, known as Reimeiki Hakubo in the other world."

Morganna was becoming slightly unnerved. It was not often that someone knew more than her, and she was newly vulnerable as she was not the system of The World any longer.

"And what do you want from me, _Helba_?"

"Just what you intend to do as the teacher of class 2-A."

Morganna stiffened even further, as it was her own offline identity that had been violated now. She was tempted to call out her Twilight Guardian, but was quite aware that her counterpart likely had some tricks up her sleeve. So she gritted her teeth and sighed, shaking her head…

"Simply to teach about the Epitaph and Psychology."

"Really?" The tone was gently, insistently probing, and the former AI could tell that the hacker was not satisfied.

"And to see how they explore The World. Observing is still a part of my nature, even if I am no longer a program!"

Tsukinoki smiled a bit as she heard the outburst. For a moment, she had contemplated summoning the Obsidian Knights to keep watch, but that would show too much distrust. Besides, she needed someone with the Data Drain ability on her side, and preferably soon.

"You should know this: there is a new threat to The World caused by Artificially Intelligent Data Anomalies, worse than anything you wrought but the Phases."

Morganna laughed at this remark, rolling her eyes.

"That would not require much, as CC Corporation has been more of a threat to The World than I ever was. Attempting to bend the Phases to their own..." She trailed off, aware of how badly those words could reflect. It had not been that long ago when she had crafted the phases in order to meet her own ends. "But I will keep watch over it, for I too, love The World, especially now that the madness is gone."

And that did manage to elicit a soft chuckle from Tsukinoki, who, truth be told, liked CC Corp no better than Morganna.

_I suppose that's one thing we have in common, though I am still concerned over your presence in my world, as well as Lycoris', though she seems quite an interesting influence on Shinji._

Morganna studied the hacker's features, slightly amused that despite their mutual animosity, they did have something in common.

_And of course, neither of us trust the other, but can't exactly show our hands. _

"You don't trust me, do you?" she said flatly, cutting through the dance of words to the point of their meeting.

The famous hacker hesitated for a moment before her next comment, but then shook her head to herself and spoke.

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't. I know what you are capable of."

Morganna raised an eyebrow at this.

"Ah, then it is mutual."

Standing in the antechamber, the two eyed one another, trying to decide exactly how much was truth, and how much was part of the age-old ritual of diplomacy and confusion. But this show of brinksmanship couldn't go on forever, and so Helba broke the silence.

"Just so there are no surprises, I will be keeping an eye on you, because of who you were and what you are now." Her voice took on a more amused quality to it. "You _are_ the embodiment of the Wave, after all."

"I would expect nothing else from the Queen of the Dark. For all that you are human, you are...quite competent."

Tsukinoki smiled, raising an eyebrow at that comment.

"You forget, you are human yourself now." She hesitated before continuing, aware of how it might seem, but still with her mask of confidence before her. "If you would like, perhaps, just so we can better understand each other outside of this world where we were once foes, we should talk in the future."

Morganna cocked her head to the side, as the wind caught up stray strands of hair, so that it streamed behind her in the twilight. Then she nodded, accepting.

"You know who I am offline. I am the one who stands to gain most from this. And as loath as I am to admit it, existence has been a tad boring as of late without an intellectual equal. So...shall we meet tomorrow night? I will tell you of what I was and my version of the Twilight, if you tell me of your world, since I find myself dwelling within it."

"And about Lycoris?" Tsukinoki added.

To her surprise, Morganna declined to share that bit of information.

"That is not for me to share. My daughter's life is for her to live."

"I find that I almost believe you, Morganna, or Yumi, if you would rather me call you that. Tomorrow night would be acceptable, and there is a cafe that I have been meaning to try. I will come find you after you finish teaching on the morrow then, as I do not think you will not be able to find me."

"As secretive and mysterious as ever, my dear Queen of the Dark. And is that a challenge?" murmured Morganna, amused.

"Perhaps," Tsukinoki replied with a smirk.

The two continued to talk, the wariness partially fading, to be replaced with tension of another sort. Probe and deflection, thrust, parry, reprise. Both did seek information and respect, knowing that the other could keep a secret, so what was there to do but meet? Even if they were old foes, they would find that they had more in common than perhaps any others in the city, and in an encounter from the past, the future could begin…alliances had begun with less.


	14. Logout 05: Calm Before the Storm

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Calm before the Storm**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**NERV HQ, Temporary Warehouse, Tokyo-3**

The Third Child was surveying the remains of the Fourth Angel, oddly less intimidating, now that it had been rendered inert by a stab of his prog knife. While it was indeed massive, enough so that the temporary warehouse for the corpse of the fallen foe required an entire city block, it was quite comical in appearance, resembling nothing so much as some sort of strange tentacle monster out of…less appropriate anime.

Not that he could fully appreciate the humor there, being vastly too innocent for a boy of his age, but the same could not be said of the rather prestigious company walking with him. Captain Katsuragi (or Misato, as she liked to be called so as not to feel old) of course, knew all about such ecchi things, mostly from her own experience, though the full extent was blocked from her mind by her hatred of the Angels, and Dr. Akagi found the similarity amusing in a cold, clinical sense.

"This is our enemy, isn't it?" asked Shinji to no one in particular. He glanced at his superiors to find that they had not heard him, being intent on their study of the corpse.

"This was truly an ideal sample—I'm very grateful for it," Dr. Akagi was saying to Misato. "But unfortunately, when we run the standard analysis…"

'_Error 601'_ appeared on the MAGI terminal.

"Huh? What does that mean?" demanded a very puzzled Misato, who for all her tactical brilliance was lost when it came to technology.

Ritsuko looked taken aback for a moment, frustrated by the late nights that she had been working in her quest for results, and surprised that anyone would not be familiar with the MAGI. Then she sighed, remembering that Misato _was_ the woman who continually managed to get herself hopelessly lost in the corridors of NERV.

_That woman couldn't remember anything unless her life depended on it._

"That's our system's code number for "cannot be analyzed," she responded at last, wondering which would happen first: Third Impact, or the day Misato actually stopped drinking.

"So you don't know anything new at all?" pressed the purple haired Director of Operations, wanting to better understand the foe that had destroyed her life so many years ago. Say what you like, the woman can hold a grudge.

Ristuko winced, rubbing her tired eyes as she gestured to the screen.

"You are correct, though we do know the Angel is composed of matter which has both particulate and waveform properties."

Misato's lips compressed themselves into a thin line as she contemplated this state of affairs, arching her eyebrow a moment later as she remembered something that Maya had told her in passing about a startling discovery she had not had the chance to report to Dr. Akagi.

"What about analyzing the Angel's inherent wave pattern?"

Ritsuko's gaze snapped back to Misato with unnerving speed, eyes scanning her long time friend as if she were some sort of alien. And to be honest, the white-clad doctor had a right to be concerned, as technical analyses was decidedly not part of her friend's area of expertise, drunk or sober. Still, what she suggested had some merit, and nothing else seemed to work, so she was willing to give the suggestion a chance.

With a shake of her head, Dr. Akagi input the commands to alter the analysis parameters, as two sets of curious eyes looking over her shoulders to see the result. A pattern appeared onscreen, that of human DNA, overlaying the wave pattern, with a blinking tracer mapping corresponding areas on each. A chime sounded, and the examination was complete, with a simple line of text becoming visible:

"_Analysis of arrangement and coordinates of waveform indicates a _98.89 _match with human DNA."_

"What does—" Misato began, only to be cut off by Ritsuko.

"It means we know next to nothing," interrupted Dr. Akagi with a measure of finality.

Meanwhile, a little ways away, Commander Gendo Ikari and his erstwhile mentor Sub-Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki had their own reasons for wanting to examine the Fourth Angel's remains. They asked in harsh, clipped tones about the integrity and condition of the sample, and then ordered most of the remains destroyed, save the core.

But Shinji noticed something else entirely: the burns on his father's hands.

_Where could he have gotten those burns?_ he asked himself mentally, staring hard at the puzzle of the burns. His father didn't care for anyone, did he?

"What's the matter?"

Misato's words broke through Shinji's reverie, prompting him into classic Shinji behavior: evasion.

"Ah...No-nothing's wrong."

Of course, with the waver in his voice and the almost-stricken look on his face, she didn't believe him. Still, she tried to be kind to him, even while needing to be firm.

"Liar. You say nothing's wrong, but your face seems to say 'Worry about me, please.'"

Caught in his evasion, Shinji reverted to the truth.

"I just wanted to know how Father burned his hands."

Noticing the burns on Commander Ikari's hands for the first time, Misato was surprised herself. She didn't know how he would have gotten those burns, not with the gloves he always seemed to wear. But there was one person who might know, and thankfully, she was standing right there.

"Rits, do you know how the Commander burned his hands?"

Dr. Akagi frowned, recalling the events of the day when Eva-00 had gone berserk, and had tried to break through the glass on the observation deck in an attempt to kill all within. To a trained eye, she was obviously uncomfortable with the memory, and yet she was still willing to explain what she could.

"Before you came to this city, Unit One went out of control during the activation experiment. You may have heard about that?

Shinji nodded, his intent expression silently prodding Dr. Akagi to continue with her account of what happened.

"Well," she said, "The pilot was locked inside it."

Shinji's eyes widened then, realizing just who the pilot must have been.

"Ayanami…" he breathed, as Dr. Akagi cut in once more.

"Commander Ikari helped her escape from it. He had to force open the overheated hatch and in doing so, burned his hands."

Shinji could only stand there stunned, his thoughts reeling in sordid disarray.

_My father did that for Ayanami? And he just abandoned me? Just who is she…_

These thoughts would continue to trouble him in the following days at school.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, ****Classroom 2-A**

Two weeks ago, before Aranami-sensei had taken the reins of Class 2-A, the students within were a disaffected bunch who could not bear to listen to stories of Second Impact and its effects any longer. Most of them, being EVA candidates, had psychological issues of one sort or another, and all of them together had only been putting in enough effort to get by, simply trying to while away the days and hours until the end of the term.

This was understandable, really, since Boring-sensei had not truly cared about his students, merely droning on about the tragedy of Second Impact, and fretting about his ruined career as a Jpop idol. (Well, maybe not as a J-Pop Idol, but the man did dream), masking his disdain of the present.

Was it any wonder then, that when Morganna arrived on the scene, young, fresh with new ideas about teaching, and willing to bring a spark of humor to the classroom, that there had been a dramatic turnaround in student morale and performance? And with the coming of the transfer student Reimeiki Hakubo, things had been shaken up even more, as the students found themselves mindboggled by the fact that someone was now making overtures to Ayanami…that were accepted, and had seemingly gotten close to the Third Child.

So as was usual under the new regime of Yumi Aranami, Shinji Ikari could be found at his desk, alternating between taking notes and glancing at one of the two young women that were in his life. One, of course, was the enigmatic Rei Ayanami, who had intrigued him with her aloofness from the world since the day that they met (in addition to being the basis for his character in The World), and the other was Reimeiki Hakubo, the mysterious transfer student who was at once both wise beyond her years and unsure of herself.

A glance over to the seat by the window. Another to Reimeiki, who sat next to him. Back to Ayanami. One to—for a moment, blue eyes met golden ones in an unblinking stare. He had been caught, but before he could stutter out an apology, as he was in the habit of doing, Reimeiki had flashed him a shy smile and looked away just a little too quickly.

From a rather awkward beginning, the two had become…as close as two uncertain young people afflicted with hedgehog's dilemma could in a short amount of time. It didn't seem like it to many others, but they saw in each other a strange sort of comfort, not that they had been willing to talk about it since that night when their avatars had kissed in The World.

Speaking of The World…he looked back over at Ayanami curiously, thinking about his close encounter with the Macabre Dancer named Skadi, who was, for all intents and purposes, a carbon copy of Rei.

Puzzles, both of them. So similar, and yet so different…

_Does Ayanami play The World? __No…why would Ayanami play? But Skadi looked exactly like her…sounded exactly like her. It has to be a coincidence, right?_

His mouth went dry in nervousness at that thought, as he remembered that he himself used a character model based on Ayanami. If anyone found out who he was in The World, there would be no end of teasing, especially from Touji and Kensuke, the so-called Idiot Duo. Gulping, Shinji tried to go back to the far more innocent task of taking notes, where his thoughts would not betray him.

Mere moments later, his willpower gave out, and he found his gaze drawn back to the blue-haired beauty, only to find himself meeting her gaze. This time, it was the Third Child that broke the contact, with a flinch, only to find two IMs popping up on his terminal a moment later.

_(KAGamer): So you aren't satisfied with just the transfer student are you? You have to go after Ayanami, too!_

_(TSJock): Ya sly dog, we knew it! You have the hots for both of them!_

As he looked towards the senders of the messages, Shinji noted the rather lewd gestures they were showing him, and blushed, a tasteful shade of red that would match the paintjob on EVA 02, or an Angel's core, for that matter. For a certainty, it did give off that much energy in the form of heat from his face, so much so, that he did not manage to type in anything else.

_(SIkari):…_

_(TSJock): Ah, what's the matter? Ayanami got your tongue? And well trained too, I'll bet._

_(KAGamer): Yeah, he's been holding out on us! Tell us about your "adventures", oh _Ikari-sama.

It was then that a most welcome intrusion arrived, divine intervention in the form of an angry brunette.

_(ClassRepHH): …this is your last warning…one more word and I will give you cleaning duty for the rest of the term._

An "eep" and a gulp escaped from both the bespectacled geek and the lanky jock as they quickly composed themselves, looking for the world like the perfect students taking notes. Morganna, at the front of the class, raised an eyebrow and allowed herself a small smile, thinking that this was the perfect opportunity to deal with a minor issue of discipline. She typed something onto her computer and sent it, causing all blood to drain from Kensuke Aida's face when the message appeared before him.

It said only this: "I know that you're a hacker, albeit one with little skill, and exactly what you've been trying to get into. See me after class."

This had Kensuke on the verge of panic, as he has previously tried to get into the NERV networks, as well as the strangely well-protected school records in his quest to find out more about the teacher and the _Epitaph of Twilight_. That alone was possibly enough get him a jail sentence, or worse…the death penalty. He had then proceeded to gossip with others on those topics in the school chatroom, which could be cause enough for a good deal of ire. And as even he knew, a vindictive superior was not good news.

Maybe he should not have been so vocal in his protests about how the _Epitaph of Twilight_ being used as their text book could not be the real thing, especially as all known complete copies had been lost during Pluto's Kiss…and in his snide comments in how Miss Aranami was no better than Boring-sensei for assigning irrelevant work. Maybe…

"It has come to my attention that there are some of you who hold doubts as to the validity of the text we are using…and to my credentials," commented Morganna in a deceptively light tone. "I would have thought you would enjoy the challenge, but since you insist on answers, I will provide them. After university, I was affiliated with CC Corporation, where I had a hand in managing The World. It was then that I came across rumors that there was indeed a copy of the Epitaph in existence, the hard copy that had been created by Harald Hoerwick, would-be lover of Emma Wielant."

She paused for a moment to give a pointed glance at Kensuke Aida, who was beginning to quake in his seat. Letting him believe that she was once part of CC Corporation, one of the most powerful companies on earth, was not a bad thing…and they had a reputation for being particularly harsh on hackers.

"After searching the world and The World, which I helped to develop, I managed to find this copy, from which your copies have been made. It has been cross-referenced with known fragments of the Epitaph online, and with other works by Wielant, being found as authentic. Indeed, this is the copy that The World is based on."

Eyebrows shot up all around the class at these revelations. Now the thoughts running through the minds of the students were these: "_This was basically an original copy?" and "She used to work for CC Corp?"_

This explained much about what had happened in the two weeks since Morganna, in her guise as Yumi Aranami, had assumed her new role as teacher of Class 2-A. No wonder then, that she had done the unprecedented: assigned students to play an online game, even subsidizing the cost of said game and equipment. Copies of the software and vouchers for one-year subscriptions had been found at each desk one morning, along with a hardbound copy of the _Epitaph of Twilight_.

That had sparked murmurs of both approval and incredulity, especially as some saw The World merely as a popular game without any educational value whatsoever, and didn't see what the link was between the game and the book. And in an even more daring move, Morganna had instated out the unheard measure of extra credit for those who performed well…or who were willing to complete certain tasks in the game known as "The World."

"A startling revelation, isn't it? That the game you know and love so well is based on this treatise on the mind and the unconscious. And here's something that shouldn't be a surprise but most likely will be: I am assigning you a project today, one that will take up the rest of the semester—"

Almost from the very walls themselves erupted a symphony of moans and groans that elicited a smile and a rare chuckle from Morganna, who waggled her finger in admonishment.

"Oh, just as I suspected, you've already forgotten that this would be a project about The World! Well then, ti refresh your memory, here is the prompt. Come to my desk for the materials when you are ready…and bring your partner."

As she spoke, a chime sounded, and the assignment appeared on the screens of the student laptops:

"_Welcome to the Eos Project, an endeavor which will shed light on day to day behavior, helping to you to understand yourself and those around you. Remember our basic lessons on how circumstances shape individuals? In this project, you will be free to shape your circumstances in a virtual world with few limits. This will run for the rest of the term, concurrent with any other assignments you may have._

_Of course, there are a few ground rules and questions to consider. It would not be a project without some hint of the academic, would it now? _

_Play The World R2 for at least 2 hours a day with a partner and note your reactions. Why did you choose your class and character model? What is it like to explore a virtual world without the limits of reality? Is the chaotic world at all like life in the battleground of Tokyo-3? How so? Taking this into account, how are your actions and intentions different from real life, especially in regards to your partner? If you find yourself joining a party, how does this interaction change? How does the notion of purpose vary between the real world and the virtual world? Do you find yourself taking on an alternate persona to address the needs of your role in either? How is this related to the Epitaph of Twilight? Explain._

_With these questions in mind, keep a daily journal on your experiences in The World, noting any special points of interest or connections to the Epitaph. These journals would be turned in at the end of the term, but should be discussed at regular intervals with one's partner, and with me at your convenience. _

_You will find adventures, friends, enemies, and brave new worlds to explore. You may even find a new home or old memories lost long ago in the land of Twilight under the moon. And perhaps…perhaps you will find the legends of the past or me, for that matter. _

_Now with that, choose your partners, and 'Welcome to The World.'"_

There was a moment of relative silence while the scope of this project sank in…and then the student population remembered that it was to be a partner-based assignment. Someone from the class would know their online identities…who could be trusted? Who would understand the identity in the other world? Would their choices, if a boy chose a girl or vice versa, be interpreted as a romantic overture? Given that these were mostly insecure 14-year olds with their own problems, chaos descended, with muttering and grumbling breaking out like a rash.

But even as a riot seemed likely to occur, a frosty glare from Morganna was enough to cut the rapid bursts of conversation down to fleeting whispers. Her eyes seemed to dart from student to student, fixing them with her gaze as chills ran down their spines. Surely there was something demonic in those eyes, those eyes with dark shadows dancing in them.

"Noting the impossibility of getting any work done if everyone is shouting at once, you will work out partners among you quietly and then approach the front of the class," Morganna said icily. "You did have two weeks to think about this…much like—"

A sudden motion from the corner of the class, and violet met crimson in unflinching gaze. Rei Ayanami had risen from her chair, seemingly focused on her surroundings for the first time.

"Ah, Miss Ayanami. Have you a partner?"

"Hai" was the quick, clipped response, as Hikari Horaki rose from her seat.

"Very well. Both of you please come to the front, and 10 extra credit points for being on top of your game."

When the two approached the desk, Morganna offered them both a pair of FMD goggles, which were quickly declined, as both already played The World and had equipment of their own, and journals that seemed perfectly tailored to their characters, with online names already inscribed on them. On Rei's was the motif of a snowflake, on Hikari's a cloud obscuring the sun.

Seeing that Ayanami played The World, Shinji had a minor heart attack, frozen in thought as his worries about the identity of Skadi came to the fore once more.

"Curious," his lips unknowingly shaped, something that was not missed by the angelic enigma Rei Ayanami.

"Is anyone else ready?" asked the teacher when the surprising pairing of Class Rep and mysterious one had returned to their seats.

Before anyone else could move, Lycoris had stood up, taking hold of Shinji's hand with a blush upon her cheeks and pulling him to the front, all to the accompaniment of catcalls from the Idiot Duo. When the journals were presented, Lycoris looked up in surprise, as her journal had the engraving of a spider lily on it, and Shinji's a random sea-bird.

She looked at Morganna questioningly, only to be waved off with a look of "I'll explain later."

The rest of class was a blur, as willingly or unwillingly, people paired up, and the final materials were distributed.

_

* * *

_

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, ****Physical Education**

But if things had changed at all in class 2-A, the same was not to be said of PE, which remained traditional as ever, with Boys on the Basketball court, and Girls at the pool. It worked out better that way, or so the students thought at least. The boys could stare up at the girls in their bathing suits with only minor hindrances to their vision, with the girls likewise looking down and commenting on the boys in their basketball shirts. Mutual benefit, really.

So Touji Suzuhara thought at least, undeterred from his lecherous ogling even by the lure of sports (even though he was the self-proclaimed jock who was always seen in a tracksuit and had a dangerously strong crush on Hikari…which he would never admit on pain of losing his manliness).

"All the girls have such lovely breasts…" he said, drooling over them, his eyes bright at the sight of so many attractive young women in their swimsuits.

This did not go unnoticed by the girls, one of which pointed him out as a lecher with this cry: "Suzuhara has a weird look in his eyes!"

Looking away quickly in an attempt to escape being caught by the Class Rep, Touji saw that there was someone else indulging in his favorite pastime of staring and grinned. The boy was Shinji, and the one he was staring at was…

Rei Ayanami, the cold blue-haired beauty sitting alone by the fence.

_Perfect. And Ikari is always so easy to tease, too._

Clapping his hand on Shinji's shoulder, Touji spoke up brashly.

"Hey, man, whatcha staring at?"

Shinji, whose mind had been focused on the question of why Ayanami, who usually alone, had seemed unusually social in the last day or so, and who she was in The World, was nastily surprised by this, defaulting into one of his evasions.

"Nothing in particular."

Unfortunately for him, he was not exactly a consummate liar, and even Touji could follow the direction of Shinji's gaze.

"You was starin' at Ayanami. Oh man, first you have the hots for Ayanami, then for Hakubo, now Ayanami since Hakubo has you whipped? You sly dog..."

"I—er, that is to say," Shinji stuttered, a sign of uncertainty that was not well received by

"Don't lie to us, man. We know you were looking," Kensuke broke in, lowering his voice to a more conspiratorial tone. "And who wouldn't at—"

"Ayanami's boobs?" asked Touji with a leer upon his face.

"Her thighs?" chimed in Kensuke, who was just as lecherous as any 14 year old boy, if not quite so obvious about it.

"Her calves?" said the Idiot duo in unison, grinning so wide you'd think their faces would burst apart.

"I told you, it's not like that!" insisted Shinji, and rather loudly too, catching the attention of most people around. Fortunately or unfortunately, Lycoris took that moment to sit down next to Ayanami, looking curiously down at the trio of future stooges.

"Looks like Hakubo is jealous of you looking at Ayanami. Maybe she wants you to look at her instead," said Kensuke slyly.

Shinji froze for a second, but only for a second. To get himself out of this situation would require some quick thinking, he realized, and so there was only one thing to do. Moving with combat trained reflexes, he got Touji into a headlock and jammed his fingers up the self proclaimed jock's nose, causing the larger boy to flail about and look ridiculous.

The audience of students broke out in laughter at the sight of this, especially the girls. Humiliation and schadenfreude were both potent parts of humor, after all, and here was Touji being made a fool of by the hero of the city, the great pervert being given his comeuppance. Up by the pool, Lycoris didn't laugh, but she did give Shinji a small smile, something that brought a flush to his cheeks.

When the commotion died down, and Shinji deemed it safe to release the jock, Touji was furious.

"Why you—" he began, advancing on Shinji with a look of menace on his face, form tense with indignant anger. Unlike the audience, he had not enjoyed being made to look like a fool in front of his secret crush, and he was going to punish the smaller boy, hero or not. However, he had not figured on Shinji's ability to self-preserve with a hasty reply.

"Let's call us even now!"

As much as Touji would have liked to continue, regardless of debts, he couldn't without seriously impugning his own sense of honor. So he simply turned away from the laughter, shaking his head.

"I didn't want you to get even that way…"

Taking advantage of the lull in conversation, Kensuke took a moment to return to the previous topic: "So just why were you looking up at Ayanami anyway?"

Shinji's voice dropped down to a near whisper.

"I was just wondering why she's always alone…and why she plays The World."

Looks of puzzlement came over his friends' faces, followed by a shared look of realization and suspicion a few moments later.

"Ayanami plays The World? Maybe she wanted to meet people more like her. She hasn't made any friends since she came to this school in the first grade, except for Hikari and Hakubo, apparently," mentioned Touji, in an unusually eloquent speech for him.

"Hikari, eh?" quipped Kensuke. "Already on a first name basis with her, are you?"

Getting the attention returned to him was the last thing Touji wanted, so he tried the Shinji-like tactic of running away, that is, changing the topic in conversation.

"What was on the journal Aranami-sensai gave you?" he asked Shinji.

"An engraving of a seagull," replied the Third Child, slightly bewildered at the change of topic. "How about yours?"

"A desert wasteland," said Kensuke, "which is a little strange, because that's what my online name means. How about you, Touji?"

"Eh, some red guy leading the sun out of the sea," said Touji, puzzled. "Dunno why, but he's a cripple. And I ain't nothing like a cripple!"

The three looked at each other and shrugged, returning to what they were supposed to be doing like nothing had happened.

* * *

**En**** route to Misato's Apartment**

A heavy veil of awkwardness lingered in the air as Shinji was left alone in the class with Lycoris, who came up to him a friendly smile.

"Walk me home again, Ecchi-san?" she said, batting her eyelashes.

To his credit, Shinji had learned to be a bit more playful and to control his blushing around Lycoris, after daily exposure to her mysterious charms.

"Hai, Hakubo-san," he said, nodding, only to see her lean close to him and look into his eyes with a strange expression.

"Call me Reimeiki, Ikari-kun. We _are_ friends, aren't we?" she breathed, looking every bit as angelic and beautiful as the day they met.

Then Shinji blushed in earnest, as proximity to attractive young girls was something he was still not used to. Not even after he and Lycoris had shared that kiss in The World, on that night when she was rather emotionally distraught.

While they had talked, walked home, and wandered The World together, their shared kiss had seldom been brought up. It was as if the incident in Hulle Granz had never happened, or had happened far too quickly, which might be a bit more accurate.

"Hai, Reimeiki-san," demurred Shinji, and once again he blushed at the smile he could see in Lycoris' eyes. Though the kiss hadn't been brought up, it was remembered…vividly remembered, at that. And as shy as Shinji was, even he couldn't deny the attraction he felt, or avoid someone who he had come to enjoy spending time with.

They walked along in comfortable silence this time, having learned each other's habits fairly well by now, until at last Lycoris voiced her thoughts to her friend.

"Do you know why I chose you as my partner, 'Skari'?" she asked, stopping in her tracks and glancing at the ground.

Shinji simply looked at her curiously, his open expression a plea for her to continue.

"Because you're not a pervert," she deadpanned, almost causing Shinji to facefault. Seeing his reaction, she chuckled, touching his chin with her fingers, an intimacy that made him flinch away. Regardless, Lycoris lifted his face till they were looking into one another's eyes. "I chose you because you've always been so nice to me, even on that first day in Hulle Granz, a place that holds many memories for me."

And because you do remind me of someone from the hazy distance of the past…

Ah, the hidden, forbidden topic had been finally broached, meaning that, at last those errant feelings had to be confronted, and for Shinji, there was no running away anymore. He had chosen to stay and comfort Lycoris on that night in which he had understood little. He couldn't run away and not hurt her, not when they were partners and had to spend time together.

_Maybe that was what she wanted all along._

"I'm not that nice. I'm selfish," insisted he, though Lycoris would have none of it. Shinji sighed and put that aside for now, deciding to come back to the situation at hand. "Do you want to come home with me?"

"To work on the project," would have been next, but they never had a chance, for Lycoris' eyes widened for a second, upon hearing his previous words. Realizing that his intent was innocent, she smiled, though as playful as she way, she was not about to waste such a wonderful opening for a bit of teasing.

"So I was mistaken…you're a pervert after all, Ecchi-kun. But isn't this going a bit fast? Shouldn't you take me out on a date first before taking me home and having your way with me?" coyly said the silver haired girl, batting her eyelashes at him.

This time, Shinji did facefault out of shock, and though Lycoris tried to keep him from falling, she only ended up being pulled along with him, somehow landing on top of him in a rather…compromising situation. Out of instinct, he wrapped his arms around her as he hit the ground, opening his eyes to find himself looking in to a pair of entrancing golden orbs.

_Oh, this is awkward_ was the mutual thought. Any move would cause one to brush against the other, and just being so close together was thrilling and frightening all at once, enough to cause both to flush furiously.

Shinji slid his hands down from Lycoris' back, intending to help both of them to get up, but stopped cold when his hands found themselves resting on her pert bum. Not knowing if there was any safe place to touch, he paled and looked into the face of what he was sure would be his doom.

But Lycoris wasn't angry with him, not at the inadvertent touch, nor at the way her was holding her in his arms, nor at the way something was poking insistently into her stomach. All perfectly normal reactions, she reasoned, and not something to get upset about, unlike a certain redhead might think.

Before things became too much more awkward, the golden-eyed girl diffused it with a playful whisper into Shinji's ear: "You planned this, didn't you, Skari Ecchi-kun?"

Her hot breath sent a tremor down his spine, as a breathy "Lycoris" escaped his lips, along with: "N-no, I—I didn't…"

"Hush", she said, with a finger to his lips. Then she leaned in close to him and kissed him gently on the lips. Naturally, given all of his (nonexistent) experience with women, Shinji stiffened, not knowing what to do. This was different from the first kiss, as it wasn't just online, and they were together in the real world (real being a debatable point for Lycoris, but that was irrelevant at the moment).

So he relaxed into the moment, as in a flash, his mind has ceased to function rationally for the second time in his life, the cause of this sudden onset of dementia the beautiful girl so close to him and everything that had transpired between them. The softness of her skin, the sweetness of her lips, the scent of her hair…the mingled sensations coursing through him overwhelmed his fears and insecurities, and almost as a mirror of the aggression that the berserker state could bring, Shinji wanted to drink it all in, to capture her in his arms and never let go.

At that instant, someone could have told Shinji that his father loved him, that his father was plotting to bring about the end of the world, or even that humanity was the 18th angel, and he would have agreed without doubt or hesitation. That's the extent to which the kiss, now realized in both worlds, had addled his mind.

Heat, searing, burning heat built in his chest, his loins, and in Lycoris who lay within the cradle of his arms. Hands roamed freely, electricity almost crackling in the air, as—

Emptiness. Coldness. Lycoris had recovered first from the grip of teenage hormones, understanding more clearly what it was that was happening, and while Shinji was still dazed, she had taken the opportunity to push up off of him. Before he knew it, she was not in his arms, nor was either of them on the floor.

She had hauled him upright, with strength belied her seemingly frail form, a blush on her cheeks and a glimmer in her eye. And curiously enough, when Shinji's mind returned to him, he noticed that Lycoris had not let go of his hand.

At first, he panicked, thinking that he must have daydreamed the situation, or somehow taken advantage of her, but the gentle warmth of her fingers intertwined with his reassured him that it was real, that he had not died and gone to heaven.

_But then, _nattered a little voice within his mind, _what heaven could there possibly be for a slayer of angels. Besides, that sorceress in The World did say that this girl was a goddess of sorts… _

They walked in silence after that, saying what they needed to in glances and in touch, walking closely enough that if Misato or the Idiot Duo had seen them, there would have been no end to the teasing. Still, they were willing to risk it, happy not to be so alone anymore, and it was with mixed feelings that they came to the corner where they had first met, and where they normally parted ways.

Today they lingered, loath to part, and so laughed over little things, like how they had met, or the things they had seen, in school and in The World. But eventually, they ran out of trifles as time passed by, turning to topics that were more serious in nature.

"I'm worried about The World," Lycoris said into the long silences.

"Why, Reimeiki-san?" asked Shinji, curious as to why a game, even if it were his second home, would worry someone else.

A sigh was the reply of the golden-eyed girl as she looked away, saying only: "The World is like a home to me, and the sorceress in white…Helba…once kept me safe after my mother…became unwell. She…died when my younger sister was born, but we've grown apart, she and I. There…I…I…"

Dabs of moisture, tears, found their way onto her cheeks, as the events of the past were still too traumatic for her to deal with well, even if time had given her the small mercy of distance. It was like Hulle Granz all over again, and this time, Shinji squeezed Lycoris' hand as he took her into his arms again.

"You don't have to deal with this alone, Reimeiki-san. The past is behind us," he said comfortingly (if a bit hypocritically). "We'll make sure nothing happens to The World…both of us, together."

They remained like that for some time, until Lycoris lifted her tear stained face to meet Shinji's, and stole a kiss from his lips, one that he was a bit shocked by, but gave willingly, even enthusiastically in the end.

But all good things must come to an end, and reluctantly began their goodbyes, interspersed with explanations.

"Hakubo-san…when I said come home with me, I meant for the project," Shinji said quietly, inducing a delightful peal of laughter from Lycoris. Not for the first time had he heard it, but it was as beautiful as ever.

"I'd love to, Ecchi-kun, but not tonight," she replied. "My guardian has a friend coming over for dinner, and wanted me to meet her. I'll see you in The World, though?"

Shinji smiled in answer to her hopeful tone.

"See you in The World," he said, quite happily at that.

With shy expressions and worn-half smiles, they came together once more in a warm embrace, and at last they parted company, heading to their respective dwellings, where guardians, dinner guests, and The World awaited.


	15. Logout 06: Thunder Strikes!

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Thunder Strikes!**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Morganna's Apartment**

There were many (quite good and valid) reasons why Lycoris should have distrusted Morganna, based on their shared history together, none of which was indicative of compatibility, but for now, they managed, living together in a joint apartment not to far from Misato's actually (there was no way Morganna would have allowed herself to live in Rei Ayanami's apartment block…she might not be a goddess of The World anymore, but she still had her standards).

Part of this was because they did have shared experiences in a new world they were with still relatively unfamiliar with, so their "home" provided a sanctuary of sorts. Upon entering this place, one could immediately see that it was arranged slightly differently than might have been expected of a teacher's residence.

First of all, it was spacious, formed from the union of three apartments into one. Space was a luxury and here it was definitely one to be enjoyed. The décor was simple, yet elegant, evoking an open atmosphere of wide-open spaces, with a few fantastical shapes here or there that were reminiscent of The World, though most people would miss the paper thin LCD screen that coated the walls, in favor of the more traditional decorations there.

Of course, if anyone had noticed the little stuffed grunties that sat along the wall as a touch of whimsy, they might have raised an eyebrow at how ill-fitting they seemed to be with the rest of the apartment, but again, few who visited the place would do so. People almost invariably saw what they wanted to see, and most people wanted to be impressed with chic sophistication.

But they would notice the paintings drawn from places and people in The World: a painting of each of the Root Towns as they used to be in the history of The World, one of all the once and future "goddesses" together, and one that was almost a family portrait, with Morganna, Harald Hoerwick, and Emma Wielant looking over their "progeny."

_Not that Morganna was ever really mother-like_, thought Lycoris as she walked into the residence, only to find herself crinkling her nose and widening her eyes at the uncharacteristic sound of Morganna humming merrily away. Even in her days in The World, she had never quite shown her amusement so openly. _I wonder who must be coming over for dinner._

Morganna, good at being mysterious as always, had kept this bit of information from her, only hinting that Lycoris would recognize their guest when she saw her. Searching for hints, the silver-haired girl looked around the room, widening her eyes at how it seemed to be a perfect recreation of Dun Loireag at nighttime, Dun Loireag as it used to be, before CC Corp's great travesty. There was even the hint of a breeze wafting through, as on a perfect twilight evening, under the moon, and spider lilies of all things blossomed in the field.

_Someone that she knew from the first version of The World then…maybe someone she respected? But who could it be?_

Knowing that she probably would not be able to guess the identity of their mysterious guest, Lycoris went to her room to get changed, choosing a variant of the red dress and cape that had been her signature fashion for so long, with crimson ribbons in her uncased hair, and a spider lily behind one ear. In short, she seemed just like her character in The World…or how she had been when she had first arrived in Tokyo-3.

Feeling confident in her appearance, Lycoris went to join Morganna at the table, set for three, as a knock was heard at the apartment door.

"Ah, that would be our guest," murmured the tall, dark haired 'Yumi Aranami', going to open the door.

A moment of fussing with the locks, and it opened with a small click, revealing the presence of a slender brunette with mousy hair. Dressed in an elegant black and purple gown (one which mirrored that of Morganna), her eyes darted about the room, suitably impressed with how closely it resembled a very familiar setting

"Decoration fit for a queen, wouldn't you agree?" inquired Morganna, with an undertone of amusement in her voice.

"In the dark of another world perhaps," replied Maya, her lips twitching into a smirk, "Even a breeze, like a _wave_, like that which covered the world of shadowless ones."

Maya then caught sight of Lycoris, and nodded in greeting.

"It has been some time since our last meeting, Child of Twilight. And I see that you have been spending a good deal of time with good Skari since then."

Lycoris' eyes widened as she recognized the voice that had addressed her, as well as names and words only used within The World. The last time that someone had addressed her as such, that person had been…

"Helba."

It was not a question, but a comment, a statement of certainty, though who would ever have expected the imposing Helba to be a mousy haired brunette with a boyish haircut in the real world?

"Now that we are all acquainted, shall we to dinner?" asked Morganna solicitously, gesturing everyone towards the dining room from where mouthwatering aromas drifted.

Maya inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement, waving Lycoris ahead of her before following Morganna's lead to where the food would lie. It promised to be a most interesting dinner

**

* * *

**

**Misato's Apartment**

Though one might say the same for dinner at Misato's place, the descriptor of 'interesting' would not be for the food, unless one defined interesting as someone being rushed to the emergency room due to food poisoning. Oh, the usual suspects were more or less paralleled, with ward, guardian, and one who was known as an imposing blond in one reality or another (but who were both in all actuality brunettes), but the setting was not.

The apartment had been kept clean only by the painstaking gruntwork of Shinji, and anytime Misato entered the kitchen, his efforts would have been for naught. It was impossible to keep ground zero of that unholy occurrence to the meticulous standards of his liking, and very difficult to keep it decent in the aftermath.

Thankfully, Misato had not quite begun to cook as Shinji entered the apartment, his traditional shout of "I'm home!" echoing in the wooden hallways. This was a good sign, as it meant that the clutter had not built up to such proportions as to absorb the ambient sound, which would have been bad. If there was one thing the hapless Third wanted to avoid, it was seeing the apartment in the condition that it had been in when he moved in.

For now though, Shinji really didn't care about that. How could he, when there were stars in his eyes and his feet oh-so-obviously were not even touching the ground? Everything had been—

"WARK WARK!"

Right. Pen-Pen needed to be fed, since Misato had likely neglected him again. The young boy walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, retrieving a can of sardines to prepare for the warm-water penguin, but stopped cold when he saw his guardian hunched over the stove.

_This is not good…_

"Misato-san…do you want me to cook?"

"Oh, no, Ristuko is coming over for dinner and she expects my finest!" said Misato, her expression positively diabolical as she poured curry into the pot.

Shinji thought that maybe he could finish preparing Pen-Pen's food and make a fast exit, but as soon as he had given the sardines to the bird, Misato had turned around with a dangerous glint in her eye.

_She must have sensed my good mood…_

"You came back late today, Shinji," she noted manner-of-factly. Then her voice became more suggestive, low and leering. "Were you out with your girlfriend doing naughty things?"

It was fortunate that the Third Child had not been drinking anything at the time, or there would have been even more of a mess to clean up. As it was, he merely blushed with the light of a thousand sunburns and stammered: "M-m-misato-san!"

She laughed at his response, finding it ever so fun to tease him in his innocence.

"My Shin-chan's becoming a man!" She winked at him, "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do! We wouldn't want a teenage pregnancy on our hands."

If pushed, Shinji was prone to strike back, and though his blush was as warm as the explosion of Krakatoa, he managed to retaliate with a verbal repartee.

"Is there _anything_ you wouldn't do?"

Taken aback, Misato just chuckled and told Shinji to answer the door, as she was expecting Dr. Akagi any moment now. He had managed to recover from that round of teasing, but something told him that his good mood would be spoiled by the promise of Misato's cooking.

* * *

**Dining Room, Misato's Apartment**

As promised, Misato's cooking always delivered everything it said it would, and considerably more. That that more happened to be a collection of barely palatable slop was probably what provoked Ritsuko, longtime friend of Misato, to gag and clutch at her throat after taking just a few nibbles.

"What's this?" she sputtered, grabbing and downing a nearby glass of water in an attempt to wash the taste from her protesting mouth.

"Curry," answered Misato between bites, even as she began to wolf down her double portion.

The Chief Scientist of Project E raised an eyebrow at this rather immature behavior, commenting archly:

"I see. You have continued to eat instant foods."

As might be expected, Misato took offense to this, snapping her head up and glaring at her friend. She had had a great deal of paperwork to fill out too, and maybe she wasn't the best cook in the world, but that mean Ritsuko had to rub it in, in _her_ dining room.

"You've been invited to a dinner, so don't complain!" she snapped, prompting a look of concern from Shinji, who was gingerly poking at his food.

"Misato-san?" he asked tentatively, falling silent when the person in question reached out across the table, picking up a ladle overburdened with curry and dumping the contents into her bowl.

"Ah, me?" she giggled. "Oh, I'll just put some of this into that, and lots of it!"

Ritsuko and Shinji shared a look and a large sweatdrop, as the latter noted to himself never to let Misato near a kitchen again, as it was a disaster waiting to happen. Awkwardness came upon them, the table silent except for the purple-haired woman slurping at her noodles.

But after a moment, even the reserved Shinji could take no more, and burst out incredulously: "Are you serious?"

Misato just laughed, batting his concerns aside with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Of course I am. Why, this is quite good. I can't make such a good taste with just curry-flavored instant noodles!" she exclaimed, before lowering her voice to a conspiratorial stage-whisper. "I just don't put in too much soup and hot water. It's a special trick of mine!"

Another moment of awkward silence, as Shinji and Ritsuko tried to come up with something to say that would be safe in this situation.

Out of a degree of respect for her friend, Ritsuko decided to settle on something fairly neutral, making a simple observation that seemed likely, given Misato's state of mind.

"I guess you cooked this?" she said evenly. However, due to Misato's never-dispelled delusion of actually having good cooking skills, the purple-haired slob decided to take this as a compliment.

"Oh, you noticed?" Misato chirruped, seeming well pleased with her achievement, as the grin on her face would attest.

"Of course, it was the taste," Ritsuko commented scathingly, the bile rising in her throat (along with her voice) at her friend's willful ignorance. "With such basic ingredients as instant foods, only you could…"

She barely managed to bite back anything more damaging, requiring more than a few moments to compose herself for an audience. When she spoke next, her tone was more indifferent, though there was still an undertone of anger to it.

"In the future, please invite me on a day when it's Shinji-kun's turn to cook. Oh, and Shinji…you'd better move out. Don't let your ill-behaved roommate ruin your life."

Shinji sighed indifferently. It didn't really matter to him what happened at home as long as he had The World, and other people to turn to…though he would be cooking in the future.

"I'm used to it," was all he said in response, letting an eloquent shrug say the rest.

But Misato couldn't resist an opportunity to one-up her intellectually intimidating friend, who had been her superior in that department ever since they were college roommates.

"He's right, Ritsuko. Don't make light of humans' ability to adapt to their environment. Besides, if he does move..."

To Shinji's horror, Misato paused, deciding that she needed more curry to go with what had once been instant noodles. He began to inch away slowly, though making sure to push the curry container towards Misato. It was not good to be between a desperate animal and food, after all…he had learned that much from dealing with Pen-Pen.

Seeing that Misato was once again back to priggishly wolfing down her food, Ritsuko sighed, completing her sentence for her.

"…He'd have to cut through an incredible amount of red tape, since Shinji just received his formal security card."

And then came the specialty of the house, the Embarrass Shinji® moment, though it began innocently enough with Ritsuko saying that she had forgotten to give Rei Ayanami's new security card to her, and would Shinji please deliver it to her home on his way to headquarters. Something about the situation was telling him that he shouldn't, but Shinji was still fundamentally a nice person and agreed to it, taking the card.

What he hadn't counted on was how a picture of her could bring back so many of his thoughts about her, why she was alone, who she was, why she—

"What's the matter?" interjected Misato, looking up from her ramen. Her expression turned sly as she saw what Shinji was looking at. "Ohh…you're staring at Rei's photo, aren't you?"

"No," answered Shinji, perhaps more curtly than was called for. His cheeks mercifully had reacted too many times in a single day to flush too much from Misato's teasing, with only a tinge of pink showing.

"Are you sure?" Misato wheedled, hoping to break down his resistance.

"No! I mean, yes, I'm sure," Shinji corrected, almost having slipped up badly. Unfortunately for him, Misato caught his verbal slip, and was determined to exploit it in her favor.

"Ah, you're embarrassed, aren't you?" Her tone turned low and sly once more, even as she nearly leered at him, waggling her eyebrows up and down in a manner evocative of Touji. "Well, now you have an official excuse to go Rei's place. It's a good chance, don't you think?"

"But I already—!" Shinji began, barely cutting himself off before he said anything too revealing. "I just find it strange that I know so little about Ayanami, even though she's an Eva pilot, like me..."

While Misato had been drawn in by his outburst, which disappointingly did not provide any ammunition for further teasing, and was about to pounce on him for it, she did find it odd how little was known about the First Child, so she looked to Ritsuko for information.

"She's a good girl though," said the scientist at last, but like your father, she's not good at..."

Ritsuko trailed off, leaving both Shinji and Misato curious as to what she was going to say.

"She's not good at what?" Shinji asked, hoping for more.

"Living."

* * *

**Apartment 402, Tokyo 3**

Unfortunately, with the dinner, and having to clean up the mess Misato had made in the kitchen (and how much of a mess the woman could make with instant food was simply absurd), Shinji did not have much time to play The World that night. He managed to get on for a bit, but Lycoris hadn't been there, only Rumor, who had informed him that the sister to the Goddess was dining with the Queen of the Dark, and probably would not be available for the night

With a heavy heart, Skari had told the little grey-haired Harvest Cleric to tell Lycoris that he would probably not be at school tomorrow, due to pressing business, to which Rumor cryptically replied that she already knew. In spite of knowing that the silver-haired girl probably would not show, he waited for another half-hour, talking with Rumor about various topics in The World. The little AI was worried about something, though he refused to burden Shinji with it for now.

_Not that I don't have enough to worry about as an EVA pilot…_

But after a while, even Shinji's eyes grew weary and he bade goodbye to Rumor before logging off and going to bed, just managing to miss the gate-in of a girl in red.

The next morning, after waking up early and making preparations for another wonderful day at NERV, Shinji found himself walking through Tokyo-3 towards Ayanami's place. The journey began uneventfully enough, though as he passed through the nicer districts, then the reconstructed areas, and the housing projects without finding a hint of her residence, he began to get worried.

_Where could Ayanami live in the city if not—_

His gaze had fallen on one of the most crime-ridden districts of Tokyo-3, one of the areas marked for eventual condemnation, and within, the apartment complex where the enigmatic First Child lived. He gulped, hesitating for a minute before continuing. No coward was he, but no idiot either, and every instinct he had was telling him that agreeing to this without, oh a cadre of Section 2 men and perhaps a car, was a bad idea. Maybe he should even have risked Misato's driving…

But it appeared that his fears were unfounded, and soon enough he found his way to the entrance, making his way inside and climbing to the floor where Ayanami's apartment was.

It seemed deserted, with no sign of recent human habitation. If possible, the hallway was more cluttered than Misato's residence had been before he moved in. Still, Shinji had agreed to do a favor for someone, and he would not back down. So he braved the piles of trash and junk mail, eventually ending up in front of the door marked "402 – Ayanami Rei."

Wanting to get this business over with as soon as possible, he rapped on the door three times and pushed on the buzzer, waiting for a response. Seconds ticked by, then a minute, two minutes.

"Excuse me?" he called out. "Ayanami, its Ikari. I've come to deliver your security card."

No response. Another five minutes passed, and now Shinji was worried.

"Ayanami, I'm coming in," he called out, as he pushed open the door, hoping that would be sufficient warning in case she was in a state of undress or other unreadiness. The fact that the surrounding area was under construction and very noisy was not much help.

What he saw in the room surprised him, as bloody bandages, clothes, and discarded packages of food were strewn everywhere. No beer, thankfully, but the sight of Ayanami's panties and the thought of where they had last been still almost caused his nose to geyser out in a nosebleed. Apparently he had been spending a bit too much time with the Idiot Duo.

_I'm such a pervert, _he groaned mentally. _Reimeiki-san is wrong about me…_

Then his eyes fell upon a desk and chair set in the corner of the bedroom, apparently new and well-cared for. On it sat a sky-blue bound journal with the imprint of a snowflake on it, a state-of-the-art laptop, and…a headset for playing The World.

"Is this Ayanami's?" he murmured, eyes wide with surprise. She valued The World this much, to keep this corner clean when everything else in the apartment was so dirty? Why? Could it be that like him, she found a haven in The World as well?

Unable to restrain his curiosity, Shinji had approached the desk and picked up the headset, intending to look through the journal and find out whether Ayanami was Skadi once and for all, when he heard a soft footfall behind him.

He whirled, and found himself frozen in place by the sight of Rei Ayanami dripping wet from the shower, only a towel shielding her slender body from the world. His mouth worked up and down as he thought of how he was going to explain his presence here, but there seemed to be a disconnect between his mind and said organ, as the only sounds that emerged from his throat were "Ah, uh, err", an exercise in basic phonetics.

She came closer to him, her crimson eyes falling immediately on the headset, and she moved to take it from him, as Shinji finally regained some of his mobility and tried backing away. Rei was slightly frustrated by this, not knowing why Ikari was there, and further, what he was doing with her things. But in the end, Shinji found himself backed against the chair, and as the blue haired beauty took her headset back from him and set it on the desk, she accidentally dropped her towel.

Now the Third Child blushed, a scarlet red unlike anything that had ever been seen before, as he had never seen anyone naked before, and had never thought that this would be happening to him. Trying to do the right thing, he attempted to bend down and pick up Rei's towel for her, keeping in mind a certain silver-haired girl that delighted him with her smile. Unfortunately, Rei had moved at the same time, the result being that the two pilots ended up tripping over their own two feet and in an explosion of pain, ended up on the ground, the towel left unheeded at their feet.

As was wont to happen in a fall, his eyes had squeezed shut, and for a moment Shinji had forgotten where he was. He reached out his hands to prop himself up, only to find himself in a repeat of how he had met Lycoris, with one hand on the ground, and the other on something curiously soft.

_Oh god, _he thought, as his heart nearly stopped. _Ayanami is going to kill me…_

But there was no movement from the girl beneath him, and Shinji found himself looking into a pair of crimson orbs that were intoxicating in their intensity, not really paying attention to anything else until—

"Can you move?" Ayanami asked, almost indifferently.

Realizing his situation, he began to push himself up with his hands, and then froze, hearing an intake of breath. Once again, he had managed to violate someone and compound his wrong by continuing to touch her inappropriately. Spilling a profuse stream of apologies, Shinji moved his hand and got to his feet, retaining enough sense of dignity to pick up the towel and offer it to Ayanami as he helped her up.

"Why are you here?" she asked, curious and a bit annoyed at having her routine interrupted.

But Shinji was tongue tied and couldn't speak while looking at her. He had gotten used to the idea of spending time around lovely young women by being in Lycoris' company, true, but not…not…naked. Like any teenage boy, he was a victim of his circumstances, and of course, his hormones.

"Well, I…err…I was asked, by accident ... let me see ... Card... your card has been renewed and she asked me to—"

He was interrupted by the closing of a door, and the sound of footsteps going down the hall. Ayanami had left him there alone, obviously disgusted with his pervert presence.

Taking a deep breath, he recited his mantra in his head (_I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…),_ and followed her out the door, intending, at least, to discharge his duty and apologize.

* * *

**Outside NERV HQ, Tokyo-3**

Rei Ayanami's lips twitched in the faintest sign of annoyance. Central Dogma was open, according to the background announcement, and she was swiping her security card through the reader, so why wouldn't the gate open? She did have a sync test to attend, on the Commander's orders, though lately, The World had made her begin to question her purpose, The World and her association with Reimeiki Hakubo, who had called it her bond to all people, much like Rei herself saw Eva.

_Curious. Much like Skari's appearance in The World, much like Ikari-kun appearing in my apartment and…touching me. It was…odd, but warm._

She continued to swipe the card through, until an out of breath Shinji Ikari barreled around the corner and handed her a new one.

"Here's—new card—Ritsuko—asked me—deliver," he managed to gasp out. Irritated by the existing delays, she took the new card without a word, swiping it through the reader and opening the gate.

* * *

**Escalator, NERV HQ, Tokyo-3**

For a few minutes, all that could be heard was the thrumming of the machinery and Shinji's panting as he struggled to catch his breath. Apparently, Ayanami would walk surprisingly quickly when she wanted to, the epitome of efficiency in a way that Shinji would never be. Slowly, his breaths became deeper, less difficult, and after some time, the only sound was the electric buzzing of the escalator.

But the Third Child knew, just knew, that if he didn't say anything, that any chance he had at forgiveness would probably be lost. That and he didn't want to be hated…couldn't stand it, in fact. In some ways, he was a pathetic creature, craving love and attention, though he didn't know it. In other ways, in other ways, he could be impressively strong and decent for a teenage boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Shinji said at last, breaking the silence.

Rei Ayanami looked at him quizzically, making him feel like an experiment under the power of her eyes. Steeling himself, he decided to try again.

"I-I heard there's a reactivation experiment today. I hope it will be successful this time."

No reaction. Wishing her luck apparently hadn't had any effect at all, and Shinji was beginning to worry that he was annoying her, not that he hadn't done enough of that as it was.

_Maybe she is Skadi…that would explain a few things. Or maybe I just haven't hit upon the right tactic yet. Center the target and pull the switch, right? Maybe a question would work?_

"Listen... Are you afraid of getting into Unit Zero?" he asked. To his surprise, the blue haired albino finally looked at him, her gaze as intent as ever.

"Why?"

Maybe it wasn't much of a response…but it was a start, compared to the silence of before. Feeling a hint of encouragement, he tried again.

"I heard that you were seriously injured in the last experiment. I just…hope you'll be ok this time."

A flash of curiosity crossed Rei's apparently impassive face, and she graced him by lifting an eyebrow, the most expressive Shinji had ever seen her.

"You're Commander Ikari's child, aren't you?" she probed.

"Yes," Shinji replied, though he hated the man and no desire to be related to him (even if he was suppressing his desire to be appreciated by him).

"Do you not trust your father's work?" Ayanami asked in return. Having done a bit more interaction with people in The World than he would have in reality, Shinji sensed that that was, a loaded question to say the least. So he tried for an evasion…

"I trust The World more…" he said, looking away, not noticing the ever so slight widening of Ayanami's eyes, whose mind was racing in thought.

They continued to ride the long escalator for sometime longer, before it was Ayanami who broached the silence with another question.

"Are you attracted to me, Skari?" she asked, causing Shinji to pale, both at the question, and at the name she had addressed him with.

_Oh my god, she knows…I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…not that I could right now._

"I-I…how?" he managed to stutter in response.

"Your avatar in The World is in my likeness, and there was a seagull on your journal."

"A…seagull?" Shinji queried, wondering exactly what that had to do with anything.

"The seagull means freedom. Its Norse name is—"

"Skari…" Shinji whispered, with terrible realization in his eyes as he looked at Ayanami. "Norse…snow...Winter…_Skadi."_

"Yes."

* * *

**Hospital, NERV HQ, Tokyo-3**

There had been a few tense moments during the beginning of the activation of EVA-00, but the reactivation had been completed successfully, and the bridge techs were patting themselves on the back for a job well done when an unidentified object had approached: the Fifth Angel. The staff had rushed to sortie EVA-01, and Shinji was feeling more confident this time, knowing that he had a job to do, and someone to protect.

And maybe, just maybe, he could impress his father with his newfound combat stills from The World.

So Shinji had thought as EVA-01 was launched towards the surface, but unfortunately it was not to be.

"High-energy reaction detected inside the target!" cried Shigeru Aoba, on the verge of panic.

"What?" demanded Misato, not quite understanding what he meant by his previous statement.

"Its circumferential parts are increasing speed and concentrating!"

Misato's eyes widened, and she shrieked into the microphone:

"No, dodge it!"

Shinji, not seeing what was happening at the surface, was puzzled, but he barely had time to ask "What?" before being blasted by a high energy positron beam, his blood curdling screams sending chills down the spines of the bridge staff.

EVA 01 was quickly retrieved, with Shinji determined to be alive, if only just. He had been rushed to the hospital, and only now, hours later did he wake up to the sight of Ayanami beside him.

"Ayanami…" he breathed, not quite sure he wasn't just hallucinating in the space between dreams. He wasn't wearing much, after all, and he didn't think a girl would just walk in on him. But then Rei Ayanami spoke, reciting the schedule for Operation Yashima, dispelling any notions he might have of this being a fantasy.

"Don't come looking like that," she had said, casting an eye over his form, which made him acutely aware of how little a hospital gown really covered. And the blue-haired enigma had also said that he was not necessary, that she would use EVA 01 if she had to, if Shinji was unwilling.

Whether intending to or not, those words struck home, as not going would be tantamount to running away once more. And Shinji was not about to do that and let Ayanami suffer for his incompetence, not after his violation on the morn before, and after she _knew_ that he did have some feelings for her.

_She's a mystery, really, in some ways even more than Reimeiki-san…_

* * *

**Launch Platform, Mt. Futagoyama Emergency Base, NERV**

The briefing session had gone pretty much as expected, though as usual, Dr. Akagi loved to overcomplicate her explanations of their scenarios and action plans. To boil it down to the basics, the Third Child was to use a prototype positron sniper rifle to shoot the Angel out of the sky, while Ayanami was to shield him. Dr. Akagi had rambled on about correcting for the Earth's magnetic field, adjusting for error, hitting the core precisely…and then had told him that all he really needed to do was to "center the target and pull the switch," as he had been told so many times since he had begun his training in EVA.

_'You could have just said that to begin with...'_

If Dr. Akagi had not been a superior, Shinji might have twitched his eyebrow in annoyance. He wasn't exactly a blithering idiot, his conduct around attractive females notwithstanding. And he would make sure to eliminate the Angel with one hit, so Ayanami wouldn't have to suffer…not after everything else he had done to her.

And so the two found themselves on the launch platform, the winds swirling about them as they sat there, waiting for the operation to begin.

"We may die," Shinji volunteered, knowing that he was fairly expendable in the grand scheme of things, and having experienced the power of the Angel half a day ago.

"Why do you say that?" Rei asked curiously. "You won't die... I will protect you."

_No you won't Ayanami, _Shinji thought to himself, _I'm not worthy of you or your protection._

Silence again, as both Pilots were left alone with their thoughts. Shinji's kept wandering from Lycoris to Ayanami, Lycoris to Ayanami, Lycoris to…

"Ayanami? Why are you doing this?" he asked, curious as to her reason for piloting the EVA.

She reflected on that for a moment and gave her response, one that mirrored what Lycoris had told her of The World once: "Because it's my bond."

"Your bond?"

"Yes, my bond…to all people. Much like The World."

Shinji thought he saw a half-smile on Ayanami's lips, but dismissed it out of hand.

_The World? And she smiled? Nah, it must have been a trick of the light…_

"You are strong, Ayanami," he sighed, looking down at the platform with trepidation for what was to come.

"I have nothing else," she whispered in a moment of vulnerability, before she firmed up once more. "Its time, we go. Goodbye, Ikari."

* * *

**Entry Plug, EVA-00**

Shinji had failed. To his horror, as he unleashed the full might of the Japanese Electrical Grid upon the Fifth Angel, it had fired a particle beam of its own, sending both of their beams crashing into the ground. He had gritted his teeth, and begun to prepare for a second shot, but the enemy had been too fast, loosing a second blast of its own far before he was ready.

_This was it, _he thought, preparing for annihilation, but EVA-00 had jumped in the way, and blocked it.

"NOO…REI! Save yourself!" he had screamed, but to no avail. She was not going to move, as she knew her duty. She stood there proud and defiant, taking the hit that was intended for him, defending him despite his many flaws.

As he looked on, the shield had worn down, lower, lower, lower, until it was gone, and EVA-00 itself was left to take the brunt of the attack without a shield.

"Ayanami!" he had screamed, bringing the positron rifle up to firing position and unleashing the fires of hell itself from its muzzle to destroy the Fifth Messenger.

The target fell silent, and Shinji rushed to Ayanami's aid, ripping the entry plug out of EVA-00, and ejecting from EVA-01 to help her out of the superheated plug himself.

He was on the ground, running as fast as his legs could carry him, and he could sense the heat coming in waves from the charred and blasted hunk of steel in which Ayanami was trapped. Shinji reached for the door handle, hesitating only for a moment at the thought of how superheated it was, how it was surely to sear his hands, if not melt them, but he was already a failure.

He needed to feel pain to know that he was alive, and if that was what it took to rescue her, so much the better. So Shinji had gripped the door handles tight, hearing the hissing and gritting his teeth against the pain as the smell of burning cloth and flesh reached his nostrils. It wasn't budging, so he threw his weight behind it, and it moved a centimeter. That still wasn't enough, and he knew that if waited any longer that Ayanami might die, and it would be all his fault…all his fault.

With strength born of desperation and a howl of primal rage and fear, the handle gave, and the door opened, the superheated LCL rushing out over him. When that surge of liquid had passed, he forced his way into the plug and found Ayanami on the pilot's seat, lying perfectly still.

"Ayanami!" he cried out, shaking her, feeling for any signs of life. "Ayanami, are you alright?"

No response, and Shinji began to sob uncontrollably. For all his training, all his determination, he had let Ayanami die to save his worthless hide. Tears ran down his cheeks in bright shining rivulets, the cool watery droplets falling from his face onto Rei's eyelids, causing her to stir.

When she awoke, she was confused by the sight before her, and brought her hand up to touch his cheek. Shinji looked up, his eyes widening when he saw she was alright.

"Don't say 'I have nothing else,'" he whispered, trying to stifle his sobs, though the tears continued to fall. "Don't say good-bye before a mission…its too sad."

She just watched him, not knowing why he shed his tears for her.

"Why are you crying?" she asked "Are you sad that I'm alive?"

Shinji's face took on an incredulous expression as he looked at her, and he found himself laughing at the sheer absurdity of that expression.

"No, Ayanami…I'm crying because I'm so happy," he said, embracing her, holding her, reveling in her solidity and never wanting to let her go.

In his arms, she stiffened, not being familiar with any form of affection, eyes widened once again as she slowly began to relaxed.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to feel at times like this," she whispered, looking at the Third Child with bright, beautiful eyes that pierced him to his very soul.

"I think you should smile," he had suggested, loosening his hold on her so as to see what she would do.

She smiled, and it was perhaps the most beautiful thing Shinji had ever seen, taking his breath away.

_What about Reimeiki? _a little corner of his brain was saying, but in the moment after the battle, its voice was not quite so strong, particularly with Ayanami smiling so warmly at him, her pale features accented by the moonlight.

"Like this?" she asked, beaming at him, reaching for his hand for support.

"Like that," he said, taking her hand and having her lean against him as they stumbled out of the entry plug out into the night.

A night in Tokyo-3, the new land of twilight, under the moon.


	16. Login 05: Liminal Musings

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Intertwining Melodies**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**NERV Hospital, Tokyo-3**

After the Fifth Angel had been defeated and the pilots recovered by NERV personnel, they were taken separately to the hospital so that their wounds could be treated. All Shinji had needed was to have his hands wrapped with bandages daubed in healing ointment, but Rei, who had suffered the fate of nearly being boiled alive in LCL, required slightly more care.

Taking first-degree burns all over one's skin does tend to wear one out, as anyone who has suffered from extensive sunburn will attest, and so Rei Ayanami slept soundly on one of the hospital beds, a not-so-surprising visitor sitting by her side, waiting for her to awaken and trying not to fall asleep himself.

_Another unfamiliar ceiling, _Shinji thought, looking up at the perfectly smooth surface painted in that clinically pale shade of white, almost the white of lead. _Almost as if the places to heal us make us sicker than we really are sometimes…how I hate hospitals. They're just so… dreary._

Then recalling that Ayanami was his father's favorite, he tried to see if there was anything that would make her room stand out, but…there wasn't. There was nothing that inspired comfort in the extremely utilitarian room of steel-gray and white, though he noted with amusement the cleanliness of his surroundings. That might at least be refreshing to the blue-haired girl, who otherwise lived in a place not fit for human habitation…or for warm water penguin habitation if one came down to it.

Shinji chuckled over that, but found that that sound of muted half-delight quickly changed into a yawn. It would do him no harm to sleep here, he decided, and Ayanami might like to see someone when she awakened. Well, maybe not, considering his intrusion into her apartment the previous day, but she had not made any mention of that, not that she was the type to do so.

In any case, it soon became a moot point, as his eyelids drooped lower and lower, his gaze coming to rest on the pale form of Rei Ayanami lying there in the hospital bed. It had been an eventful night, and she had even smiled at him…a smile that reminded him of moonlight, hinting at mischief and oceans of untapped emotion. The light in the room was dim, and in the dimness, Shinji almost mistook Ayanami's sleeping form for that of Reimeiki.

_Reimeiki, _he thought, bolting upright with a sudden lurch. _I want to see her, to know that she's ok, to hold her in my arms and keep her safe from harm. _

Feeling a little sheepish at not having thought of her till now, Shinji let his mind wander to Reimeiki, to her playfulness, walking home with her every day for the last two weeks, how wise she seemed, and yet how fragile she could be. Her smile always found a way to make his heart beat faster, and he remembered the way she had felt in his arms when they had last seen one another. The softness of her skin, the sweetness of her lips, the scent of her hair…ever since Reimeiki had come into his life, she had turned his world upside down.

Come to think of it, she was probably the only person in Tokyo-3 who didn't know he was an Eva pilot, or who, if she knew, never mentioned it, treating him like a normal person. Except he never felt quite normal around her. Instead, he felt elated, embarrassed sometimes, ecstatic…quite possibly the whole list of emotions beginning with the letter "E."

_And then, _he remembered with a hint of surprise,_ Reimeiki somehow found a way to get close to Ayanami…Maybe…maybe like draws like…_

He shook his head ruefully, and this time, did not fight when sleep came to claim him, carrying him off to a pleasant dream set within The World.

* * *

**Morganna's Apartment, **_**a day earlier…**_

Dinner with an archenemy had been a rather interesting affair the evening before. Though Morganna was rather new to living outside the net, and hadn't entertained many people in her apartment before (Helba being the first) she knew enough about human rituals and psychology to manage. And of course, the fact that, Maya (Helba) had been the guest gave Morganna a chance to…show off.

True, Maya was familiar with all the various technologies in use in the apartment, but even she had found the extensive paper-thin LCD screens and 10.2 surround-sound setup impressive, as it did allow one to be fully immersed in a virtual environment, even more so than FMDs. Dinner at the apartment had been about what she imagined a fine meal in The World would have been like…and at Dun Loireag, as well, which Maya remembered had been one of Tsukasa's favorite places.

'He—she was one who often complained of her existence in a ludicrous world,' thought Maya, reminiscing over the beginnings of the Twilight Incident. 'And I will admit that I am pleased that the young wavemaster is doing well these days.'

The past of the dothackers had been mentioned, as that and The World were two of the archrivals' only points in common (aside from being women who fundamentally enjoyed power), and there had been some amusement when Morganna recalled that she had been defeated years ago by a party led by a teenage boy of only 14 –about the age of student she was teaching now.

"That's the trouble with facing human beings," the once-goddess had remarked. "They are so unpredictable when threatened. One would think that they would give up in the face of overwhelming odds, but they don't…unless it is a particularly difficult homework assignment threatening their grade, in which case, they tend to complain and try to get out of it."

Laughter had ensued from the two older ones at the table, while Lycoris had simply raised an eyebrow and chuckled. The silver haired girl couldn't very well deny how her classmates reacted to even the mere mention of homework, as though they were victims of Pavlovian conditioning to moan and groan about it. Not, of course, that there had been any complaints over having to play The World.

Neither she nor Morganna had expected there to be, since most students were hard pressed to simply find time to play without interference from parents. Though Lycoris did wonder whether Morganna was attempting to condition the students for ulterior motives, namely, regaining a part of the power she had once unquestionably held. It would be easy enough with students in a war-torn land, especially if one were to give them what they wanted…escape, security, seeming freedom. But freedom had its cost, as Tsukasa had discovered years ago, and Lycoris wondered what the lesson would be for the students in class 2-A.

Still, it was undeniably easy to read teenage boys (about as easy as a children's book—large print, mostly pictures, etc), and most of them did provide some comic relief—when they weren't busy staring at one of the girls. Sometimes they would even stare at her, or the ones that Hikari referred to as the "Idiot Duo" would make some rather coarse comments about poor Ikari-kun, who admittedly did intrigue her.

Of course, having been a program that collected information on emotional states, and having witnessed romances in The World, Morganna had not missed this development, but had waited until now to reveal her knowledge of it to Lycoris with a sly smile. Maya chuckled over that, noting the foibles of human relationships, and how both Morganna and Lycoris were pretty much human now, in spite of their origins.

From there, they had turned to other topics of conversation, making light of old events and some anew, though Maya had discussed her concerns about the Fifth Angel. She knew that Morganna and Lycoris would not be ones to divulge any confidences, and had felt safe in talking about the wave patterns of the Fourth Angel. Not only had it resembled the harmonic signature of human DNA to an uncanny degree, but the divergences seemed to resemble the markers for something else she had once had to face: the Cursed Wave.

Morganna had been taken aback when this was noted, asking skeptically if Maya thought that she was somehow responsible for the coming of the Angels. There had been a bit of nervous laughter then, but the NERV tech had conceded that though Morganna might be responsible for the loosing of the Cursed Wave, she could not think of how they were related to the Angels.

One thing did concern her though: What would happen if the Angels found a way to access the global network? The World would be a perfect place for them to take up residence, and once there…

The room had quickly sobered, as a repeat of the Twilight Incident was not what anyone wanted, and given their wave characteristics, one angel could easily cause as much damage as a phase, if not more. Angels, after all, could regenerate…and with the AIDA situation being what it was…

Noting this, Maya had asked two favors of Morganna: 1) to note how her virtual room had been made so that she could set up such a chamber for training purposes, as it struck her that full immersion in The World could be far more effective than simply using keyboard and headset; and 2) to join her in her endeavors to protect The World.

Morganna had agreed to both, as it meant that she would be able to take on a rather more important role in The World, regaining a fraction of her old power and prestige. How…ironic that this would be through joining the same group (in name, at least), that had defeated her in the past. She hoped that there would be no players around who remembered the skill "Data Drain" the time of Twilight, or the dumbbell monster that had been sighted with the wavemaster Tsukasa, as that could prove…inconvenient.

_Ah, but the players have no doubt changed after 7 years or so, and most are probably gone, though the one called Wiseman does work for CC Corporation now, so I must needs be cautious._

Maya had nodded, though still a bit wary of Morganna's intentions, but desperate situations make for unlikely bed-fellows, and these two were less unlikely than most, having a great deal in common. And as they say, keep your friends close and enemies closer. If only Morganna definitely fell into one category or another. But as long as the world was safe and identities protected, this bit of uncertainty would have to be enough.

The other item discussed was the need for a virtual training chamber, for full immersion into The World, something that Morganna highly approved of. The more that an environment could separate a person from real life, the more likely that the person would take on another role and grow tired of the game less quickly. That, and an interface could be built into a plug suit, leading to a greater range of motion and possibilities for action.

_Of course, the training chamber will be more similar to piloting EVA as well, though I do hope that the Commander doesn't quite catch on to my involvement in this. Perhaps I should just suggest something to dear "Ritsuko-sempai."_

There had been agreements made, alliances forged, and so the conversation had gone on, with Morganna now becoming a dothacker, of all things (something which might have made the former heroes of The World fall over in shock). But Lycoris had tired of the conversation and had excused herself to go to her room, where she logged into The World.

* * *

**Δ Server Eternal City Mac Anu**

Golden rings of light rippled into a shady-half existence once again, existing for just long enough to herald the coming of Lycoris, sister to Aura, and a near goddess in her own right. As she emerged from the gate-in chamber out into the streets of Mac Anu, her golden eyes shone out into the darkness, and the silver of her hair caught what little illumination there was to be had from the starlit sky. In her dazzling red dress and cape, unique to all The World, she looked radiant, a small smile on her face as she thought about the worlds she bridged.

Nighttime in The World was always a special time, when more adventures would happen, when certain small intimacies that would not last the light of day might be exchanged. From twilight's dusk to twilight's dawn would be the merry hours of a world's revelry, and Lycoris reflected that the nightlife really wasn't too different in either world.

But Shinji—that was to say, Skari, wasn't there, and the petite girl silver-haired girl drew little comfort from that. She trusted him, it was true, but he had promised to be in The World tonight, and—

The chime of A in C Major hung in the air for a moment, as Rumor gated in, looking rather frazzled and unkempt, a far cry from his usual appearance. There were bags and dark circles under his eyes, and though an AI didn't need to sleep, the little Harvest Cleric looked liked he was in dire need of it. It probably didn't help his appearance that he wobbled about and collapsed, falling upon his knees as if unable to stand.

This was surely something more serious than simply fatigue, which an AI could not feel in the virtual world. Perhaps, then, it was the beginnings of data corruption or something else equally serious. After all, the young grey-haired boy had mentioned shadows arising from errors in the global network.

Lycoris rushed to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder and trying to see whether she could do anything to make Rumor feel better. Then she remembered an ability that her (sister? Niece?) Zefie had had and smiled, thinking that might be of use to her. Fortunately, since Zefie _had _been based on her program code, she thought she knew just how to add in…that was it.

"**Loving Boomerang Hook!" **she called, a gloved fist impacting Rumor's face. The young AI looked shocked at being struck, but in the next moment, his data knit back together. The blemishes and scars disappeared, the fatigue draining away as if Rumor had been given a double-shot of quad-espresso.

Opening his eyes, the Harvest Cleric groggily looked around, relieved to find himself back in a relatively safe haven.

"Thank you, my goddess," said Rumor, though he remained on his knees, respectful of the proprieties of his situation. He hesitated for a moment, as if unwilling to be the bearer of bad news, but resigned himself to saying it anyway. "Rumor has it that the shadows are growing more active in this land…"

He trailed off and bowed his head as if disappointed in himself, causing Lycoris to put a hand on his shoulder and bid him to rise.

"What happened?" she asked gently, knowing that anything that could worry Rumor, normally so mirthful, was no doubt something quite serious.

"Rumor has it that AIDA are attempting to infect players now," the little boy said solemnly, the look in his eyes far too old for his youthful form. "But infection does more to AIs than simply change them. It can destroy, corrupt, alter…I was nearly taken over."

_And the Azure Knights had been dealing with other anomalies in the system and had not noticed me being ambushed._

Lycoris' face froze into a neutral mask as Rumor related his tale. Granted, she was no longer an AI since having gained a human form, but she remembered what it was like to be hunted, to face the possibility of true death in The World. Memories came flooding back of Hulle Granz and being on the business end of the Spear of Wotan, of how she had faced what she had thought would be her end.

And now the AIDA were a threat not only to The World, but also to AI characters, who could quite possibly be destroyed by them…

"Go and rest. I will tell the Queen of the Dark myself," Lycoris remarked at last, happy that she could remove at least that burden from Rumor's shoulders. "You have risked much in confronting the AIDA…go and rest now."

With that, Lycoris turned to gate out, her stay in The World prematurely ended by a message she would rather not deliver but had to, though four words from the enigmatic Rumor made her pause momentarily in her steps.

"Skari…was here earlier," was the last thing that the silver-haired girl heard as she logged out, a brief flicker of hope among the encroaching darkness of the Void.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

It had only been a couple of days, but rumors (the only things faster than light) were already beginning to spread. And as rumors do, they tended to grow and mutate in the retelling…

"Maybe the Angel killed them," one had stated, sparking life to the rumor mill once more as they waited for Aranami-sensei to arrive.

"Nah…if they were dead we wouldn't still be here. Maybe they're in the hospital after the battle," another had countered, and much of the class had nodded, knowing how dangerous it must be to fight against the Angels.

"Or maybe its just Ayanami who is injured, like she always is, and Ikari is waiting by her side for her to get better," a girl had chimed in, stars in her eyes at the thought of the great Shinji-sama as a romantic hero, suave and debonair as any of those mysterious men in the movies she watched.

Hearing this, Lycoris had felt a pang in her chest, and she grimaced slightly, though aside from that she displayed no reaction. What she was experiencing was highly unfamiliar to her, as she had known joy, sorrow, despair, hope, and other emotions, but essentially, she had been an unwanted child and sentenced to a "death" of sorts. Now there was someone who understood her, someone who she enjoyed spending time with, and she didn't want to see him just vanish.

_Is this…jealousy? I have never felt that before in my existence. Jealousy, from the Latin zelosus, meaning full of zeal. There is no reason for me to feel it though…Ikari-kun will come back. I just hope he is well—_

Then a rather rude comment came from the larger one of the Idiot Duo, causing the silvery haired girl to visibly cringe.

"Maybe Ikari and Ayanami ran off together and eloped! I always knew he had the hots for her, always staring at her during—OW!" So said Touji indeed, right before he was dragged out into the hallway for cleaning duty. Even in real life, the Class Representative had no patience for those who irritated her.

Then, without warning, an instant message appeared on all the laptops in class. It was from the teacher, Yumi Aranami, and had read as follows:

"_Greetings, students. I apologize for not being in the classroom at the moment, but the reasons for that will become clear soon enough. You are to log into The World, using the provided equipment, and meet me in the field called Molasses Mansion Sif Berg, located at 'Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat.' And just in case you haven't read up on The World's backstory yet, Sif Berg is supposedly where the three goddesses who control desire in The World reside."_

"Eh?" was the collective response of most of them, with a few thinking that they might as well "go to the bathroom" and go home, since playing The World didn't require their presence in the classroom. Why be there when a teacher wasn't there, after all?

Just then, another instant message appeared with a friendly _ping!_, though the contents were decidedly less friendly:

"_Just in case any of you were thinking about leaving or skipping, I would recommend against it. I know how long it takes for someone to log in and gate to this field, and I do intend to take roll. Don't worry, I will not ask your offline names, as I know who you are in The World. Just another perk of once being employed by CC Corp, but I suggest you hurry. I do not enjoy having my time wasted."_

There was a dangerous undertone to that message, ominously seeming to suggest the possibility of harm in one way or another. Though the students knew of Aranami-sensei as fair and intriguing, she _was_ very different from any teacher, and they suspected that she would be only all too willing to use them as examples to the rest of the class or worse. Most simply hoped that everyone else would not find out their online identities, as that could be the cause of some embarrassment, if not worse.

With that came a frenzied buzz in the classroom, as students scrambled to log in, hastily pulling on headsets and starting up the online game.

* * *

**Δ Server Eternal City Mac Anu**

The sheer number of golden rings that briefly manifested themselves in order to facilitate the gate-in of so many students momentarily froze the server and blinded those looking into the hall of the Chaos Gate. Thirty simultaneous logins were not exactly par for the course, and both server and eyes of observers reeled to recover as chimes sounded and a very motley crew gated in.

For most, this was their first time seeing one another's online identities, and it was amusing how similar or different those seemed from real life, both in appearance and behavior. Notably missing, of course, were Skadi and Skari, but only their partners were quite aware of this, with Lycoris and Tomoyami pairing up for the time being.

As for Aruna and Arano, their actions were slightly more mixed. Arano, for instance, being the rather more logical Shadow Warlock, instinctively edged away from the crowd, intending to wait for everyone to gate out to the field first, but Aruna, every inch the Tribal Grappler and barbarian, had the "brilliant" idea of gawking at the female players, some of whom were very scantily dressed. Two players in particular drew his eyes, standing some distance away from the mob and herding the others to the field.

One was a young girl clad in a red dress marked with an infinity symbol, an adorable red cape clasped about her delicate shoulders. Her hair, silvery with red streaks, streaming uncased down her lithe form, was twined with crimson ribbons and her golden eyes shone out into the darkness. She looked innocent and compassionate, a spider lily tucked behind one ear as she calmly gestured to the gate.

_Hey, she looks like Reimeiki, _Aruna thought to himself, leering at her as he thought of how attractive the real-life character was. _I'd sure like to get me some of that._

The other girl seemed rather more dangerous, her pale face sporting the sigil of darkness, framed by two long streaming pigtails of lustrous black hair. And though she wore a flowing white dress with blue underskirt, what Aruna noticed first was the rather deadly looking weapon that she held so easily, a scythe like a demon's claw. He picked up on the air of power and malevolence that hung over the woman like a storm cloud and took an involuntary step backwards, a movement that was not missed by eyes accustomed to tracking prey through a field.

One moment the Tribal Grappler was leering, the next he was pushed up against the wall of the gate-in chamber, the haft of a scythe pressed against his neck as Tomoyami of the Shadow looked into his eyes, holding him paralyzed with the intensity of her stare.

"Try that again," she murmured in a deceptively sweet singsong voice, "and I guarantee you death when you next come to a field. That, or I will make sure that your character resembles its namesake, with no legs upon which to stand. Are we clear, my dear Tribal Grappler?"

Aruna could do nothing but nod, stammering out a "Y-yes," in response to the Flick Reaper's quiet rage. Thankfully for him, she shook her head in disgust, and with a swift kick to his character's crotch, returned to her former position over by the silver haired girl, who was looking on in amusement.

_She's scarier than the Class Rep!_ Thought Aruna, his eyes darting about in an attempt to see if any other dangerous players lurking about in the area. Fortunately for him, there were none quite yet, so he made to rejoin his friend the Shadow Warlock, who simply shook his head and snickered at him.

"What? Don't give me no disrespect, man," Aruna drawled, wanting to know just what was so funny.

Arano rolled his eyes, having seen the same thing all too many times, saying only:

"You act exactly the same way in The World as you do in real life. Even with me telling you to think before you act, you never do," he voiced, though for the next part of his statement, he made sure to whisper so no one else could hear them. "There's no difference at all, just a difference in how violently people react sometimes…and you and I both know that the one person who normally doesn't like your actions is the Class Rep. Think about that and the player you just harassed…"

Aruna's face took on a stricken quality as he jumped back and waved his hand frenetically in front of him, laughing nervously. His normally tanned and jovial character seemed somehow diminished, seeming pale and vaguely fearful of something yet to come, as he began to grovel at the feet of a smirking Arano.

"I'll change, man, I'll listen. It's all harmless fun, right? No one saw that display besides you and that girl," he voiced nervously, "No need to tell anyone, least of all the Class Rep."

Arano laughed, causing some of the players to look in their direction before turning away out of boredom or disinterest.

"What I meant was that the one who attacked you probably _was_ the Class Rep," the Shadow Warlock quipped, causing Aruna to pale even further, if that was possible. The Tribal Grappler was about to go over to the pigtailed girl to apologize and turned in his direction only to see her giving him a disdainful look…and the silver-haired girl looking at him with pity. Then those two left for the field, and in the blink of an eye that it took for them to gate out, a certain redhead gated in, only to look upon the pathetic tableau.

Eris, flush from joys of the battlefield, was ready for her next few victims. She had managed to massacre a horde of newbies today, and hopefully had taught them a lesson about trusting others. The fact that most of them were lecherous males who didn't believe that a female could be as good of a gamer had not helped their odds of survival, and in a whirlwind of steel and fire, she had wiped the field free of their taint.

_And how satisfying it is to have gained more power. Soon no one will be able to stand against me…not even a bluenette like that girly man who cheated to kill me in the field…or that ice bitch who stood in the way of my kill…or Skari, that despicable __Scheißekopf __pervert who only acted like a newbie to try and cop a feel off of my lovely body. But wait…what do we have here? _

"What's going on?" Eris asked mockingly, her voice sweet and cloying, as she tossed her fiery mane of auburn hair. "Is there a newbie convention that you two missed out on or something? Or a hentai convention, bakas?"

Aruna, getting to his feet and trying to recompose himself, was rather surprised by the entrance of an old enemy and babe, and failing to think, reached for exactly the wrong thing to say.

"Why? Did you want to join us, doll?" he asked, trying to emulate the classy males in old film noir, not realizing that this girl hated being called a doll. That, and he was a sucker for a pretty face and figure every time, and with her striking features and black leather armor that barely covered the essentials, Eris was definitely a looker. Never mind that she had killed him before…it was a new day in The World…right?

Eris' right eyebrow twitched slightly at the sound of the word "doll", and looked critically upon the Tribal Grappler.

_Verdammen Sie!_ _I would exterminate this despicable vermin like the scum he is right now, but I can't battle another player in a Root Town, so I have to get him to disclose a field location._

"Maybe I do," she purred, playing with the ends of her hair in a very flirtatious manner designed to overcome any male resistance. "Where are you headed off to?"

"Aruna!" Arano interrupted with a hiss. "We need to be off before we're noticed as missing…I don't know about you, but I do not want to face Aranami's wrath."

This might have bought Aruna a little more time, and he nodded, remembering that the consequences of a certain Class Rep and a Teacher's displeasure could be dire.

"Euh…sorry, but we have to be off to _Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat_," the Tribal Grappler said to the Edge Punisher Eris, not wanting to listen to his mind and not his raging hormones. "But here, take my member address. Let's party together sometime."

He winked, and it was all that Eris could do not to shudder as thoughts of what the male had meant by that statement danced disconcertingly in her mind. But for her plan to play out, she had to pretend that she actually was looking forward to it. She winked right back at him and mimed blowing a kiss, saying only:

"Of course, handsome, I look forward to it," in the cutely enthusiastic voice that teenage boys so love. "You boys just be off on your dangerous trip into the wild unknown."

_Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat, eh? I should have guessed it would be something perverted, and that field definitely sounds like a place for a ecchi convention. _

Meanwhile, Arano was mentally hitting himself on the head at Aruna's mental thick-headedness. The Shadow Warlock didn't exactly have a death wish in The World, but he might as well have, being Aruna's partner.

_All brawn and no brains in his bigger head! Gah! While I know that Eris is good looking, she's betrayed us at least twice before, and Aruna told her exactly where we're going. Doesn't he remember what happened when he didn't take her seriously? We're so doomed if she catches us in the field before we find Aranami-sensei and the class…_

"Come on," he said brusquely, pulling Aruna to the gate and activating it, as golden rings of light pulsed into existence and whisked them away to their destination.

Eris waited a minute and then did the same, vanishing with a smirk on her face at the thought of all the weaklings she would likely be able to massacre in the field.

* * *

**Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat, Molasses Mansion Sif Berg**

Waiting in the antechamber of the mansion was a Shadow Warlock clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses, dark violet eyes, and of course, the obligatory infinity symbol serving as a brooch, evidence that she was related to Aura and Lycoris. She had once been feared as the Cursed Wave, and perhaps she would be known and feared again, once the AIDA situation was well in hand, though not in the same capacity. CC Corp had taken those critical pieces of herself and turned them into Avatars for Epitaph Wielders, and though the Avatars had escaped, she had a feeling they would not wish to return to her after how she had warped them into living weapons.

_Which is a pity, but at least I do have another role from which I can draw some satisfaction, and possess a little bit of power. Some would have provided very interesting material for the black box, once, while it is a wonder how some are still alive in their foolishness. Humanity is…a fascinating species of which I am now apparently part of…I wonder if that was Harald's plan all along?_

Given that unsolvable imponderable, as the person in question could not be asked, Morganna frowned slightly, looking out one of the many windows as students began to arrive and file in to the mansion, looking around as if they had never seen the place before.

_Though I suppose most of them have not. Only a few people were able to tell me the keywords for any of the lost grounds, and this style of architecture is no doubt unfamiliar to people accustomed to living in very limited spaces._

"Welcome to Molasses Mansion Sif Berg, home to the three Goddesses of Desire in The World…though if anyone thinks that being here will make them luckier in love…you're out of luck," she said in greeting. "Take a few minutes to look around and then have a seat wherever you would like, while I see what's happening outside."

She knew of Skadi's absence, sure enough, but the delay that the others were taking to arrive irked her. There was no reason for this tardiness when all had received their messages at the same time, and Morganna did not exactly enjoy having things contravene her will.

Perhaps it should not have surprised her that Lycoris and Tomoyami would be watching as everyone gated in, that Aruna and Arano had gotten themselves into another altercation…or that a PK named Eris would gate in.

Yes, speaking of the self-proclaimed PK, Eris had unsurprisingly followed the Idiot Duo to the field, even as they scurried for their lives towards the mansion.

_This will be an easy kill, and then I'll move on to their friends…_

Eris grinned wickedly at the sight of those two simpletons moving away, thinking that she would not follow. She had grown rather bolder since their initial encounter, and in her lust for power and revenge, the PK was willing to take her chances. After all, what male could possibly resist her good looks and girlish charm?

She drew her weapon, admiring the way that its blade was always clean despite all the blood that should be upon it. Holding it in ready position, she took a few steps forward, dashing into a run when—

"DIE, BITCH! _**Reaper's Dance!**_"

A wave of brute force slammed Eris back into the Chaos Gate, and her HP dropped precipitously, she realized with horror that she recognized the voice of her attacker: it was the PK named Tomoyami of the Shadow.

_What is she doing here? Did she beat me to the field again somehow? Oh, __Scheiße! She must want revenge on me, or thinks I want to steal HER kill._

Dark laughter came from the Flick Reaper as she confronted her foe, eyes narrowed into angry slits and gleaming with a sort of obsessed madness.

"You stole my kill last time, Bringer of Strife," hissed Tomoyami, her demonic scythe howling through the air to slash at the stricken Edge Punisher. "And you only beat me with the help of that Macabre Dancer. But Skadi isn't around to save you now, bitch. Let's end this!"

Down came the scythe, and Eris was flung to the side by the powerful blow. Clearly, her opponent had also become quite powerful in the time since their last encounter.

_Does she have a problem or something? I should have expected this…she's a powerful PK, just as I am. But I don't intend to be killed by her, not this time. I'm not going to let this crazed girl steal MY kills like she tried to do last time. _

Eris knew that if she didn't counter attack now and regain the momentum for herself, all was lost.

"_**Shell Breaker!**_" she shouted, rushing at Tomoyami and swinging with the full force that an Edge Punisher was capable of. The Flick Reaper blocked with the haft of her scythe, but still stumbled backwards due to the sheer power of the attack. Seeing her opponent falter slightly was promising, and Eris slammed her Flame Sword into the ground, producing a shockwave that flung Tomoyami into the air.

Or at least it would have, had Tomoyami not already leaped into the air in anticipation of this. She knew of an Edge Punisher's strengths, and was not one to be defeated easily. As long as she kept Eris from getting inside her reach, she could win. The Flick Reaper twisted in the air, bringing her Scythe up and around to attack in a spinning flurry of death.

"_**Heavenly Wheel!" **_she cried, striking from the air with viciously quick speed, allowing her to charge a very special attack….one that caused a series of explosions about her, damaging the Edge Punisher and blinding her to the next slash of her scythe.

By luck of the draw, Eris just managed to block the intended deathblow, her sword catching the Flick Reaper's weapon only an inch from her flesh as she pressed the attack.

"_**Armor Break!" **_she howled, putting everything she had into that attack and managing to land a perfect strike across the other's chest, even as the blade continued down to the ground and caused another shockwave, this one actually knocking Tomoyami to the ground.

Eris advanced upon her supine foe, charging for all she was worth and intending to end things now with her opponent on the ground, but Tomoyami had anticipated this. She waited second by second as the Edge Punisher came closer and closer, then rolled to the side, and whirred her scythe at the other's legs.

"_**Reaper's Touch!" **_Tomoyami sang out into the air, her voice a lusty sound of relish as her blow connected and the fiery haired Edge Punisher fell to the ground cursing, her weapon tumbling away from her. Not about to let her opponent regain an advantage, the Flick Reaper snatched up the Flame Sword and put it into her inventory, leaving Eris unarmed.

"So much for being a Bringer of Strife…you can't even protect yourself," she sneered, bringing the butt of her weapon down on the would-be PK's back as Eris tried to crawl away. "Oh, trying to escape now are you? How…pathetic."

Arano and Aruna, who had turned around when they heard a battle going on, thinking that someone might need some help, visibly gulped at how easily Tomoyami was pounding their archrival into the ground.

_Never ever get this girl angry, _they collectively thought, knowing that if they did, it would probably be the last thing that they would ever do in The World.

The pigtailed fury leapt into the air for a finishing strike, intending to end Eris' existence once and for all, and even as Eris tried rolling away, she found herself pressed against the Chaos Gate, with no hope of living past the next 30 seconds. There was no time to gate out, and being trapped in a battle, there was no way for her to escape, even if discretion were the better part of valor.

…until golden rings flared into existence, as an Adept Rogue with long silver-blue hair, crimson eyes, pale skin, slim body form, and charcoal-gray robes with a shimmering water elemental symbol on them shimmered into existence. Skari had chosen that most inopportune moment to gate-in, and ended up taking the mighty blow from Tomoyami head on.

"Oof!" he cried out, as the scythe tore through his armor and robes like tissue paper. He had, after all, not expected to be attacked as soon as he gated into the field, and was thrown on top of Eris by the blow.

Upon Skari's face was a classic 'deer caught in headlights' expression as he found himself in this compromising position, and he drew his weapons, anticipating a need to defend himself. What he didn't expect was for Eris to squeeze his hands until the twin blades fell to the floor before immobilizing him with a kiss, interposing him between a viciously slashing scythe and her own flesh.

More mental anguish blossomed in Skari, as his ambition in life was NOT to be a human shield for someone who had previously tried to kill him. Tomoyami likewise hesitated, staying her hand after a first couple of strikes, but resolved that what was necessary was necessary.

Unfamiliar feelings bubbled up inside him again, artifacts from his increased confidence and time in The World. He detested being humiliated and used, and knowing that this situation was the same as the one his father had put him in, dark thoughts crossed his mind.

_And here I am being used again, even in The World. I hate…I burn…I am Ikari…_

He had broken the kiss and spun Eris around towards the Scythe, just as Tomoyami struck with "_**Reaper's Dance!**_" Both the Adept Rogue and the Edge Punisher were thrown backwards, crashing violently into the Chaos Gate again, but when the dust cleared, the fiery leather clad Bringer of Strife had turned grey and vanished from the field.

Skari dived for his Twin Blades and picked them up, ready to defend himself if at all possible, as he would not go down without a fight, not even to someone who had just defeated a PK with unnerving ease. For Tomoyami now strode towards him, demonically clawed scythe in hand and a considering look on her face, every step one leading towards his doom.

Then the pig-tailed girl had stopped, stepping aside with a bemused grin as Lycoris emerged onto the scene and flung her arms around Skari.

"Well done, Skari-kun," nodded the powerful Flick Reaper, approving of his actions. "You resisted Eris' charms when these two (and here she glared at the Idiot Duo, who were now trying to slink away) fell for her all too easily. Thank you for allowing me pleasure of the kill."

She licked her lips in relish and then turned towards the house, preceded by a certain Tribal Grappler and Shadow Warlock scampering there in an attempt to get away from her fierce wrath. This left Skari alone with Lycoris, who was holding him as tightly as if they had been apart for weeks, sporting a blush worthy of a volcanic eruption on his face.

His arms encircled her frail form and the two simply held one another in silence for a time, before joining hands and heading towards the mansion.

"Thank you for waiting for me," murmured Lycoris, head on his shoulder, as Skari stiffened guiltily, knowing that he had spent a good deal of time with Ayanami the last night, and that perhaps he had been wrong.

"I will always wait for you," he replied, a soft smile on his face as they walked to the house of Desire together, the sweet home of love and desire in this virtual world.

Within the house, Morganna smiled to see such a touching scene, and nodded to herself, happy that her daughter was finding some happiness here.

_Though if he hurts her, he will learn the true power of a former goddess of The World…_

She made her way from the window to the front of the antechamber, motioning for her students to sit down as she began her lesson for the day.

"From the moment we come into the world, until the time we leave it, we are merely playing roles, putting on different personas as we age. My question, then, is how true is this? Feel free to respond in any manner you want, and to reference your experiences in The World."

One hand rose hesitantly into the air, and he replied to the question in a way that was full of a unique…not quite charm.

"Eh…sometimes da hot girls in The World are really guys?"

Morganna's only reaction to that was to raise an eyebrow, though the rest of the class burst out laughing.

"I suppose that is valid, but how about rephrasing in terms of what else we have learned?"

"Euhh…here we can pretend to be something we're not?"

"This is true. But is it applicable to the real world as well?" asked Morganna. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted that Skari and Lycoris had entered silently, and ended the preliminaries. "Well then, seeing no hands lets us begin with our new lesson, from a different author, but still applicable to the Epitaph and Psychology."

And so the Shadow Warlock began to recite from an old but relevant tome, a wry smirk of amusement evident upon her face:

"'_All The World's a stage, and all the men and women merely players…"_


	17. Logout 07: Blurring the Boundaries

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Blurring the Boundaries**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

A/N: Asuka shall arrive in the next chapter, for those curious to know. Thank for reading!

In response to **cevgar**: Consider the premise of Evangelion, with humanity attempting to become "God," surpassing its creator, if you will and look at the chapter in this light. I don't see this as a case of "everybody ganging up on the guy who says the world is round" for the reason that if we go with Descartes axiom of "I think therefore I am", then an AI that believes itself to be sentient must be considered so. And while I understand that Rei cannot be considered artificial in the same respect as an AI, she is not strictly human either, and was created by human hands, no? Part of what this fic has at its foundation is a blurring of the notions of natural and artificial, of real and virtual, much as in the .hack universe, where there are programs capable of rewriting themselves and outstripping past limitations, of growth in a way much like life itself.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A **

A few days after the novelty of having a class in The World, the students of Class 2-A found themselves once again sitting in class, forced to scribble down notes as quickly as possible. Their teacher had taken a tangent from the study of the mind and emotion to talk about the nature of mind vs. brain, physical vs. mental. Part of this was due to the topic's relevance, as the mind-body connection was rather important in the field of psychology, but some of the reasons were a bit more personal, as how one looked at the mind tended to affect one's thoughts about AI.

"Given your experiences in The World and the similarity that these possess to those in the real world," Morganna had asked, "what do you think about this issue? What about NPCs in the game? How about the possibility of AI, or artificial consciousness? Could something that only exists in a virtual world be as real as you or I?"

Here she was being ironic, though only one student really picked up on it, namely the one who had come from AI origins as well. Unsurprisingly, there were few hands in the air, but one of them happened to be that of a bespectacled lad who fancied himself a hacker. Curious as to his response, Morganna nodded to Kensuke to give his opinion.

"Eh, you can't use The World as an example," the more diminutive member of the Idiot Duo responded. "NPCs are just following pre-programmed instructions, and don't have any free will."

"And if one were to develop consciousness or exhibit emergent behavior, to do things that are not specified by their instruction set?" Morganna probed. "What would your response be then, given the proliferation of heuristic techniques?"

"Contact the administrators about a bug," Kensuke swiftly replied, missing the subtle twitches from both Morganna and Lycoris. "If a program is displaying emergent behavior and acting outside its given parameters, then there is likely a need for debugging. And like any other program, an AI is not self-aware, being simply a collection of code designed to solve a certain set of problems. Even if it managed to pass the Turing Test and hold a conversation with a human being, an AI would not really be sentient, it would just appear so. There is no true understanding, merely a response to an instruction set, thus what a program does cannot be described as thought - merely the illusion of conscious thought."

"Ah, I see you are using the Chinese room argument, first postulated by John Searle," noted Morganna, whose voice had just grown a little colder and more dangerous. "But in response, can you define for me conscious thought, Mr. Aida, and how your understanding of this phenomena - which I assume you have not researched in detail - is different from that of a program linked to a database on the topic?"

"Humans can learn from experience and become more than the sum of their parts, gain an understanding of topics they do not understand through study - but a program cannot," the bespectacled boy replied. "Programs are limited to what they are coded to do, as that is an inherent property of their design, while humans are not."

"...humans are not, Mr. Aida?" Morganna returned, raising an eyebrow. "So what exactly are you saying? To summarize, you seem to say that nothing artificial can ever be considered on par with a human? That even emotional analogues are false?"

"Of course," the geek said, laying the framework for his demise. "Nothing artificially created by human hands can ever reach the same level as the creator, and as we create AI as a tool, it cannot surpass us. Not even in a virtual world can the artificial be said to be real."

This time, there were three twitches, one from Morganna, one from Lycoris, and one from Rei (who was considering what Kensuke said in relation to the Angels, who seemed to exist merely for a programmed objective - or most humans, who simply followed rules and instruction sets), as the temperature dropped precipitously and dangerous thoughts ran through Morganna's mind.

_It would be an interesting experiment to Data Drain Mr. Aida so that he might find out just how real the wrath of an artificial being is…it would be easy enough, I suppose. All I would have to do is arrange for a suitable distraction and then unleash the might of the Guardian upon him…though unfortunately, that would likely anger Helba, and that would have negative consequences for my well-being._

"Is there anyone else who would like to state an opinion on the matter before we move on?" Morganna had asked, looking expectantly over at Lycoris, who in turn, raised her hand.

"I believe that true emergent AIs are like souls, are living beings as much as anything else in this world. Sentience is not limited to a physical form," the silver-haired girl stated. "For even as programs are a collection of bits and bytes, are we not collections of atoms and molecules? As computer programs are compilations of instructions, is not the same true of people, who have DNA as their instruction code, as well as the rules imposed upon them by society?"

"But its not the same-" Kensuke began, only to be cut off by the normally mild-mannered transfer student.

"No, it is the same...or at least, it is similar enough," Lycoris said firmly, fire in her eyes. "I will agree that not every program possess consciousness or intelligence-but not all living things do, do they? So why is it that if a human displays emergent behavior, it is often praised as creativity, while a program is in need of debugging?"

"They're two different concepts - one has intelligence, while the other shows merely a semblance of intelligence but not intelligence itself. One cannot apply the standards meant for one to the other. After all, a program has never demonstrated a will to live in the face of deletion, has it? Demonstrated curiosity, emotion, and other such when not proprogrammed with parameters to mimic emotion?" So Kensuke asked, but he did not give anyone a chance to reply. "This is why-"

"-its strange, I think, how there isn't a definition of consciousness or thought that _isn't_ based on human preconceptions, using humans themselves as a baseline to measure other beings against," Lycoris cut in, interrupting the bespectacled boy. "But if we consider the problem logically and discard these assumption, how would one demonstrate human intelligence beyond a shadow of a doubt? According to your logic, the argument could be made that the so-called intelligence of a human being would also be artificial. That your knowledge, your insistence that the nature of AIs precludes consciousness may be the result of a set of biological processes that simply emulate intelligence - that humans are but self-replicating biological programs, containers for genetic memes. Further, if one wanted to extend the metaphor about a creator and debugging, could not one say that the Angels are here to debug humanity, which has certainly developed beyond its original parameters?"

A very chilling question, that, one that sent an involuntary shudder down the spines of most present - but a question that could not be ignored.

Kensuke looked stricken, even as most of the class recoiled in shock at this notion.

"That's not-"

"It's easy, isn't it, to judge something else when one is certain of one's own status? To casually dismiss what one doesn't understand or that flies in the face of one's ability to maintain one's perception of the self as significant, unique - both as individuals and as a species - something that is seemingly a directive of the human _program_," Lycoris stated, emphasizing the last word for irony's sake. "To quote a portion of the Epitaph often quoted by Harald Howerick: 'when the finger points to yonder moon, the fool will look at the fingertip.'"

"But that's—" he tried again, only to be cut off by a very angry Child of Twilight.

"No!" she hissed, turning an intense glare on him that made Kensuke want to sink under his seat, suddenly feeling very small. "Its not different at all. Doesn't all sentient life deserve a chance to live and grow, to not be murdered for being different? No entity is just a puppet for your amusement or use…every sentient being that is alive and can think for itself is its own individual, not someone's tool! And if you say that an AI might only believe itself to be alive, how about you? 'I think, therefore I am.' That is the axiom by which Descartes described consciousness - the axiom by which most of humanity lives. If an artificial intelligence can develop to the point at which it at least believes itself to think, to have an intention, a will of its own, should it not then be considered alive and intelligent by the definitions we apply to humans? As a thought experiment, what if you fell into a coma and your consciousness only existed online as data? Would it then be alright to 'debug' you as well and erase you from the world? After all, by your words, you wouldn't be alive, _merely_ an artificial entity with the illusion of consciousness."

Morganna had flinched quite violently at the mention of people falling into comas and being "debugged." No one here knew it, but CC Corp had been planning to shut down the servers of The World during the Twilight Incident, which would effectively have murdered the consciousnesses of those trapped in comas…trapped by _her_ doing. From her experience, people _would _try to erase what they did not understand, causing a "Genocide of the Unknown", if one would. And to tell the truth, she hadn't been much better, willing to use whatever means at her disposal to fight for survival…Death had been the greatest of her fears, the Terror of Death what had represented her best.

"That's enough, Ms. Hakubo," Morganna said softly, in a voice that was pitched to be low and even, yet resonant enough to be heard. "Please have a seat."

Hearing that voice, Lycoris snapped out of her single-minded focus. She looked around with a blush, suddenly realizing that how vocal she had been, and quickly sat down. While it seemed odd that she would get so angry over such a trivial issue, she did have her reasons, though in hindsight, perhaps mentioning coma victims and debugging was not such a good idea. Still, she had presented her argument very well…well enough that Shinji, though he had no idea of Lycoris' lineage, thought that she seemed a vengeful goddess, appropriate enough, given the circumstances. Lycoris, while sweet and caring most of the time, could indeed be her mother's daughter.

Kensuke's reaction was not quite as admiring as Shinji's, as he looked absolutely stunned by what he had seen, almost as if his very life had flashed before his eyes. The bespectacled geek was looking straight ahead, but his face was frozen into a mask of mingled fear and...a hint of grudging respect, eyes glazed over, and jaw hanging open in shock, helplessly gibbering.

The sight was quite amusing to Morganna, who erased the message she had been about to send to the authorities, informing them about the little hacker in class 2-A. That information could be used for another time, and it seemed as if Kensuke had the fear of the Goddess put into him, so for now, the embodiment of the Wave was satisfied.

"Ms. Horaki, please escort Mr. Aida to the nurse's office so that he can recover from his state of shock," she said, motioning for the Class Representative to do her duty. The very picture of order and responsibility, Hikari jumped to it, and the non-responsive Kensuke was soon removed from class.

Rei, in the corner of the classroom as per usual, observed these proceedings curiously. It was…surprising that the girl known as Reimeiki Hakubo would defend AI (and artificial lifeforms, by extension), so vigorously. That a creation might not be bound to the will of the creator was something of a new concept for the blue-haired girl, and she processed what had been said about every living being as its own individual with interest.

_This discussion is of relevance to my situation, for I am an artificial being. But I am not bound to my creator? I am my own person…just as in The World I create my own identity. It is curious how she expresses her ideas…first The World as a bond to all people, and now a violent diatribe on the equality of all life, whether artificial or not…perhaps she is like me._

In front of the classroom, Morganna decided to return to the main topic of the Epitaph, but her mind was only half there as she began a lecture on the symbolism of Twilight, on the importance of the joining of historical adversaries Aperion, King of Light, and Helba, Queen of the Dark, in the fight against the Wave, and how that represented the necessity of personal integration in defining the self. Most of her mind was focused on a current problem in The World.

_I am concerned about the problem of AIDA…new AIs evolving from the Void. One became aggressive and this aggression spread quickly, as they are linked. Yet some peacefully coexist with The World…I wonder if perhaps a reset of the world network would be enough to purge the aggressive portion of the AIDA, while leaving the rest. For this, the power of an Epitaph is required…possibly Corbenik, the Rebirth…or the Dummy Epitaph, the copy of Tarvos, the Avenger. Yes, I had almost forgotten of that program…if I can assimilate the Dummy Epitaph's power, I will be able regain much of my lost power in The World…to once again rise to where I used to be. But first, I must find the Epitaph Wielder of Corbenik and suggest to him a plan..._

* * *

**NERV Headquarters, Tokyo-3**

The corridors of NERV had never been designed to win any awards in interior decoration, Shinji reflected, walking along the cold metal hallways once again. Dr. Akagi had mentioned something about a "special" test for him without supplying any additional details, and he was a little nervous, hoping that it would not involve needles, nudity, or probes in most inopportune places.

He arrived at her office, slightly worried about what was to come, but the bottle blond was not there. In her place was the ever-personable Maya Ibuki, who Shinji preferred to work with, if at all possible. There was just something about Dr. Akagi that intimidated him, as if she was keeping a secret that could end the existence of the human race.

_And here I go being paranoid again. That would be almost as bad as if she was sleeping with Father or something…and Father never gets close enough to anyone for that to happen, so I'm safe for now._

"Hello, Pilot Ikari," the mousy brunette greeted with a smile. "Dr. Akagi is setting up your test chamber at the moment, but she asked you to change into this specially modified plug suit."

She held out the suit in question, and Shinji looked at it uneasily, seeing that it had flowing silvery lines embossed on it that seemed vaguely like circuitry or ancient runes…reminiscent of his costume in The World. And speaking of The World…the Third Child remembered a conversation in Hulle Granz some time ago, where a mysterious Sorceress in White, Tsukinoki, had revealed two bits of information: 1) That she knew he was the Third Child; and 2) That Reimeiki was related to a goddess.

He had guessed that Tsukinoki might be Dr. Akagi, as both were powerful blonds, and had been "not even close", to use her response. Briefly, Shinji wondered if it could be Maya who was Tsukinoki, but wrote that off almost immediately. Her presence wasn't nearly commanding enough, and she didn't seem the type to play The World anyway, much less be the personification of Helba, Queen of the Dark.

"Is something wrong?" Maya asked with concern. She could sense that Shinji was a little uncomfortable, but wasn't quite sure as to why. He needed to be put at ease before the next test, or he might be overwhelmed by what he was to experience.

His train of thought broken, Shinji just laughed, shaking his head. The cool sound echoed through the room and shattered the tension, setting both at ease once more.

"Sorry, Ibuki-san," he apologized. "I was just reminded of something that happened to me in The World."

"The World?" the bridge technician asked curiously, a touch of wariness in her eyes. "Do you mean the MMORPG?"

"Hai, Ibuki-san," Shinji said, nodding in confirmation. He stopped laughing then, his face grave. "For a moment I pictured you as someone else I had met in The World, someone whose name itself is intimidating: Helba, Queen of the Dark. But that's silly, you're too gentle to be someone like that."

_You'd be surprised, Third Child_, thought Maya, a small smile playing across her lips at Shinji having outthought himself. _And there are reasons I am the way I am here, putting on an appearance, as your teacher might say, as she and I know each other…intimately in the way only enemies and lovers can._

"Hurry up and change," she quipped, playing on one of his fears to move thoughts away from this dangerous area. "Or Ritsuko will get frustrated and use one of her probes on you."

Shinji must have set a land-speed record that day, changing, dashing out the door…and slinking back in when he realized that he didn't know where he was supposed to go for his test. Without a word, Maya gestured for him to follow her and he did, with both of them coming to a halt before a plain metal door.

Maya nodded for Shinji to enter, and he did so, passing through the door into a sea of stark white. He could not see the walls or where anything was in this room…it gave him a curious sensation of being adrift in the ocean of the mind.

"Greetings, Shinji-kun," intoned a voice from above, Dr. Akagi's from the sound of it. "You are here to test out a new piece of equipment that I call a virtual room. Upon entering, you're A-10 neural clips and specially modified suit have synced with this simulation, so that what happens here will seem very real to you."

"What is the purpose of this?" came another voice, this one from besides him. It was Rei, who was outfitted in something similar to what he was wearing.

"Since piloting Eva is largely based on your ability to picture your actions in your mind, while in a combat situation," Dr. Akagi replied, "this simulation is designed to train your reactions and responses. Here, you will not be in an Eva…or rather, you will be the Eva, with equipment customized to your preferences and a simulated AT field. But do keep in mind that like piloting an Eva, pain is a very real factor here."

With that, the room fell silent, except for the sound of the two pilots' breathing. They were alone in a space of indeterminate size, and they would have to rely on one another…but this time, there were no Evas separating them from their enemies.

"Choose your weapons," came the voice of Maya Ibuki from above. "But be careful…you can only carry a few, and while a HUD will help you to target and aim. So tell me…what do you need?"

Shinji thinks about his choices for a moment, then quipped with a straight face: "Guns…lots of guns."

Amused, Maya was about to input the instructions for hundreds of rows of assorted rifles to appear, when Dr. Akagi broke in.

"As much as the idea of you as a gunslinger amuses me, Shinji, please choose something more useful in battle," the Chief Scientist of Project E reprimanded, bringing a look of chagrin to Shinji's face.

"Umm…I'll take two progressive knives and a positron rifle," he replied, and to his surprise, the weapons appeared before him in a neat pile.

"And your selection, Rei?" the disembodied voice asked from above.

"The same."

With that, the two Children armed themselves, as Tokyo-3 flared into existence around them with a flare of golden light. In the distance could be heard the roar of an Angel…and then another. Two Sachiels emerged from the water, side by side, their massive, vaguely humanoid forms rather daunting in the light of high noon. And if the size wasn't enough, the fact that each one looked rather like his visions of a demon from hell didn't exactly help, with the core on its chest just taunting him to try and attack without getting his head blown off.

Shinji almost imagined that the white beaked mask of the Angels were sneering at him, now that his simulation was no longer "center the target, pull the switch," and he was pretty sure that the difficulty level would be enhanced, since he had only managed to beat this Angel by going berserk (which, he thought, he would try never to do again, since he didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone else).

"I am so going to die," Shinji muttered, as he brought his twin blades up into a guard position, ready to attack.

"Why do you say that?" Rei asked, with a subtle touch of irony to her voice and the shadow of a smile as she moved to his side. Her stance was near identical to his, and she held the very same weapons that he did. "You won't die... I will protect you."

Shinji's eyes widened as he recalled the events surrounding the 5th Angel battle, but before his thoughts could veer any further from thoughts safe for work, particularly with the person on his mind in a figure-hugging plug suit next to him, a sharp voice interrupted from above.

"One last comment before you begin. This simulation is meant to simulate real battle experience, meaning that it won't be as simple as pointing and shooting, or slashing. You will likely miss at times, and there will be no easy wins. The only possibility of victory comes with teamwork. And if you think that difficult…well, this is a war. Welcome to the world."

It had to be _those_ particular words, didn't it? "Welcome to the world," a phrase he'd heard countless times…well, he had learned a few things from The World about not running away, and even as the familiar strains of _'I mustn't run away' _echoed in his head, so too did a fierce determination.

_I will fight. I will fight to protect those I care about from harm, and in the end, I will be free._

_"_Ayanami, lets finish this in under a minute, just to see what would happen if we didn't have the use of the umbilical power cords," Shinji said, having shifted to his battle mentality. If there was to be a battle…let it come. He would show them show Father he was worthy.

"Hai" came the quiet response, as he and Ayanami shared a look, almost an unspoken agreement between themselves that they would get through this, and survive this war together.

Then the Angels lumbered forward, roaring in berserk rage and launching cross flares at the two pilots, both of whom attempted to dodge, but to differing effect. Rei managed to evade it by ducking behind a building, but Shinji was caught in the open.

"_**Expanding AT field!"**_ he cried, as the blast of energy hurtled towards him, connecting with a massive explosion. A cloud of dust was flung into the air, obscuring all sight of the Third Child, but when it cleared, he stood there defiantly, a hexagon of orange light before him.

_50 seconds remaining._

Unfortunately, this wasn't The World, so he could not counter with magic, but that's where a positron rifle, so much more efficient than a pallet rifle, came into play. As quickly as he could manage, Shinji exchanged his blades for one of the aforementioned rifles, firing it in a burst, and cuing Ayanami to do the same.

The blue haired pilot did likewise, emerging from cover to strafe the two Sachiel clones. Advancing quickly, they sprang forward, discarding the rifles and bolstering the strength of their AT fields as they made contact with the opponent.

_40 seconds remaining._

"_**Expanding AT field**_," the blue-haired girl intoned, and the phase space between the fields of Angel and Eva rippled into being, waves of light spreading from the contact point. It was a tense battle of wills and thoughts, in this avatar space of sorts where intentions blended…until the barriers dissolved and vanishing, as the pilots broke through.

_30 seconds._

Sensing that its enemies were fast entering its close-range threat envelop, the two AI Sachiels extended two razor sharp spikes from its hands to use as striking weapons, the same ones that when energized had proved so effective against Unit 01. The Angels slashed down at the pilots, intending to dispatch them quickly with blows to the head.

But Shinji and Rei, having faced this particular situation at the hands of a certain would-be PK, instinctively snatched up their dual progressive knives, interposing them between their bodies and the sharp spikes, blocking the blow with one blade and using their momentum to spin around and bring the other across the gut of the enemy, which roared in pain as it staggered back.

_20 seconds._

But the twin Angels of Water were not about to go down without a fight, and generated lances of pure energy from their hands with which to counter their opponents. They charged the unprepared pilots, almost too late for them to dodge, and managed to score a blow to the arms of each.

"Gah!" Shinji hissed in pain, but he was unwilling to surrender. He would defeat this angel one way or another, and prove that he did not need Unit 01's berserker mode to do it. "Quickly, press the attack," he ordered. "Don't let it self-destruct!"

The Third Child ducked low and swung his leg around, tripping his opponent with his weapon, while dealing a vicious kick to the core. The lance of light was interrupted by this unexpected maneuver, and the Angel doubled over, just as Shinji recovered and drove a progressive knife into the glowing red orb on its chest.

Rei, on the other hand, had managed to avoid the Angel's blow by vaulting over it, using its head as a fulcrum on which to pivot. As such, she had to modify her routine slightly to match Shinji's, grabbing its shoulders and pulling it backwards as she knocked its feet out from under it. Sachiel lost its balance and fell, just as in a blur of motion, the blue-haired girl lunged, stabbing the now vulnerable core.

_10...9…8…7…6…5…_

"Targets have gone silent," reported the disembodied voice from above, as the two pilots nodded at one another. Their plan had worked. But then, the voice spoke again. "Ok, good job. Now we will be raising the difficulty of the simulation, allowing you to adapt to progressively more challenging opponents, as the Angels will likely only get more difficult with time. Simulation commence!"

A reset of the field, and two copies of the Fourth Angel appeared, giving Shinji the sneaking suspicion that it was going to be a long day.


	18. Logout 08: Fateful Encounters

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Fateful Encounters**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**NERV Headquarters, Tokyo-3**

To put it mildly, training in the virtual room was…not terribly easy. Previous simulations had been comparatively, as they had just involved an almost mindless repertoire of "_Center the target, pull the switch. Center the target, pull the switch."_ This one, on the other hand, involved the possibility of pain, embarrassment, and enemies that actually fought back…in other words, its what the pilots should have been trained on since the beginning. I mean, its fine to know how to point and fire the nigh-useless pallet rifle (which in battle…what? Kicked up smoke against the fourth angel?) or to synch with a biomechanical war machine, but unless you know how to handle it in a combat situation, one must rely solely on berserker instincts or following orders to win…not the most effective strategies, by any means.

After a day of these training sessions, even the Invincible Shinji (or perhaps especially him, as he had had no combat training save The World) would be worn out and weary, and in such a state of mind would be either extremely docile or irritable, depending on how the simulation had gone. Well, as it so happened, there was some news for the Third Child, though he wasn't sure how to take it.

"The Second Child is arriving tomorrow," Misato had said to him after one such test. "And you get to meet her, since she's heard so much about the mighty Third Child." She winked at him, and continued. "You may bring a few friends with you, if you wish, just meet at the docks in the morning. And no, not Ayanami, even if you do have a crush on her. She has to stay behind and guard Tokyo-3."

Misato waggled her finger suggestively and Shinji's face lit up like one of those anime characters who had just consumed way too many Habanero chili peppers. No, steam did not erupt from his ears, and he did not end up breathing fire, but the resultant glow did give a little more warmth to the corridors of NERV, while contributing to the heat death of the universe.

Shinji was both stunned and worried. He had just gotten used to working with Rei in close proximity, and she seemed tolerant enough of his mistakes. What if the next person wasn't as tolerant as Ayanami was? Worse, what if she turned out to be the over-aggressive type who would tease him, or worse, find any excuse to put him down?

_Another Child…am I that inadequate that they need to bring in someone else? Ayanami almost died because of me last time. Maybe it's true that I am nothing but a failure…that I'm going to be replaced. I never wanted to pilot, anyway. I pilot because others tell me to, because they need me, but the pain…but somehow its easier with someone to protect._

The slightest of smiles tugged at the corner of his lips as Shinji walked home in silence, a strained mask of nervousness covering up the turbulent mess inside his mind.

_And who will I bring? Kensuke and Touji? Reimeiki? Maybe Hikari? She's been nicer to me lately, and nicer to Ayanami, too. Ah, decisions, decisions…_

* * *

**Aircraft Carrier USS _Over the Rainbow_, Flagship, UN Pacific Fleet**

One of the things that most frustrated Askua about sailing on the open ocean was the lack of network connectivity. Yes, there were satellite uplinks and sophisticated communications gear, but as far as anything she could use for more mundane purposes, such as, oh, playing The World and getting a savage glee out of showing one of those annoying newbies why it was bad to trust anyone higher level than they. Sitting in her cabin of bare metal walls, there was really nothing to do except look out the window at the rolling waves of the sea, reminded bitterly of those blue-haired dastards who had dared to impugn her honor and skill.

_When I find a chance to log in, I will bring discord back to The World, reminding those there that rewards go only to the strong, that the weak have no place there…they're all just useless dolls._

In some moments, the Second Child even wished that an Angel would attack, so that others would treat her as she should be – as someone important, as a powerful young woman in her own right. She had been chosen as an EVA pilot when she was only four, a remarkable achievement, or at least she had thought so until she went home and her mother killed herself.

_Why? Why did Mother do that? She must have been weak; as I will never be…she abandoned me and taught me that only strength is enough in this world. I will never cry or need anyone else…I will be strongest, in this world or any other. In that way, I am doing the trusting a favor by showing them how life should be lived…right? _

_Why do they always have to resist so much and treat me like someone trying to bring evil? And that girl-man called me a "doll", an ugly useless doll, when he himself is the ugly one. _

Asuka harrumphed, making a strangled half-hiss to show her displeasure with the term. She was alone, after all, and could afford to be angry. Anger kept people away, and when people were kept away, they couldn't hurt you anymore. Without anything else to do, and unable to sleep, the fiery redhead found herself looking out the porthole again, towards the rolling waves.

_Why did this ocean have to be blue? Blue…the color I hate. The color of ugly, useless dolls that only follow orders and don't have any common sense. The color of the naïve, of the _verdammen_ peace loving fools who don't know the glory that is Asuka Langley Soryu…_

The Second sighed, irritated with her virtual confinement to this floating prison on the seas. While she could roam around if she chose, the officers had warned her to stay out of their way, and she had heard derisive remarks about this being a "babysitting mission", and mutters about "carrying a brat and her toy." Those had stung, and it had been hard to resist the temptation to smash in a face or two, but the fact that the men who had spoken were higher in rank than her, and that she didn't want to be thrown in the brig had kept her from doing anything too rash.

So many people saw her a child, even her beloved Kaji, who resisted her even after she had become so much more…developed. Was it a wonder then that preferred being inside her cabin for now, where the whispers would not follow, even if it were more boring than she would normally put up with?

_I hope the Third Child and the others from Japan will come soon, to give me something to amuse myself with._

_

* * *

_

**MIG-55D Transport Helicopter, En Route to Pacific Fleet**

"A MIG 55D transport helicopter! I never thought I'd get a chance to fly on one! It's great to have friends, isn't it, Shinji?" shouted Kensuke excitedly. No matter what else happens in the EVAverse, there was still one constant: the bespectacled geek would continue to be a military otaku, fanatical about his love of anything related to the military or NERV.

For that reason, the other occupants of the helicopter were beginning to become quickly irritated with him. Granted, Touji and Shinji has acquired a weak resistance to the maniacal enthusiasm being produced (and that might have been enough to puncture an AT field with sheer volume of annoyance), but the others had not. Hikari and Lycoris were also on board, as Shinji had decided to bring them along too…the former partially to embarrass Touji, who had the sense to remain rather quiet when next to her.

"Eh?" asked Shinji, only half listening to Kensuke. He, like everyone else, was rather paying more attention to Lycoris, who was telling a story about a sickened fallen angel. A real angel, not like the ones humanity faced, captive and imprisoned in a place like Cocytus, the 9th Circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno, its location shrouded by a blinding snowstorm and guarded by an almost unstoppable foe, that which was humanity's One Sin.

"_Damage done to the evil-shaped one, too massive to compare…"_

Like one of the angels humanity fought in the modern day, The One Sin was indeed an evil shaped bring, though instead of sallying forth to assail its victims, this one sat atop an icy spire from which it commanded the field below. Further, it seemingly took no damage from the blows of any warrior, while dealing lethal damage in turn. Many adventurers had quested to destroy it and free the angel trapped within the land, but all had failed, until one day a certain duo came along and ridded the world of its bane.

"…_Balmung of the Azure Sky, Orca of the Azure Sea, together they gallop at full speed…"_

Two sword masters had joined together to face what they knew would most likely be fatal, leaping into battle against their foe and striking again and again to no effect. The one-sided battle raged, with the blade users using what magicks they had at their disposal to sustain the intensity of their assault. But The One Sin was not about to be defeated so easily, countering every arcane assault with one of its own, using powers much greater than a mere mortal could summon. A single breath from the drake and one of the warriors lay critically wounded, revived only by an elixir blessed by the strongest of mages.

Orca defended until Balmung was able to fight again, upon which they renewed their onslaught against the spectral beast. Again and again they struck, blades smashing into what seemed the unprotected flesh of Sin, only to glance off harmlessly of a nigh invincible foe.

"_Hope fails. Power – now all to droplets turned…returns to nothing…"_

Even the strongest warriors in the land had been no match for the might of the Spectrum Dragon, and so the same was true here, when in despair, Orca and Balmung tired, stepping away from their foe and unable to continue. But it was then, in the darkest moment of the battle, when the brave challengers had resigned themselves to defeat that they discovered the key to victory: that The One Sin was truly a reflection of the wrongs of humanity—or specifically, that it mirrored the attacks of its opponent, never striking unless they did first.

A shared look, and a surge of renewed vigor with the realization that the foebeast was not invincible. One launched a wave of fire, countered by one like it from the dragon, and it looked as if one of the warriors would fall, before the other attacked with a freezing gash of waterborne sorcery that sliced through the wave of flame, critically injuring the dragon for the first time as it howled in rage.

Now that the enemy's secret was known, it became almost a game to see who could whittle down more of its health, and who would be the one to land the deathblow. Slowly but surely the fell creature staggered backwards, until with a final strike ended with a sword lodged in its side. A shriek sounded as if from the depths of pandemonium as the One Sin reeled, plummeting from its icy spire to shatter into a thousand shards of magic.

"…And then what happened?" asked Touji, who was actually pulled in by the story that Lycoris was weaving. As it turned out, he was quite a sucker for fantasy stories involving strength, for he understood power, or at least, liked to think he did.

"All around the warriors, the field flared with light, as a land blighted by snow was healed, restored to rolling green," the silver haired girl replied. "And the spire itself melted away, setting the two brave souls who had fought the dragon gently onto the ground as an angel ascended to heaven, feathers falling all about, including one which gave an ancient goddess sight. The world was safe from the ravages of the beast at last, thanks to two who worked together."

"…_the descendants of Fianna…together with the warrior who wears the eyes of the stars."_

Throughout her story, Lycoris has quoted liberally from a poem of W.B. Yeats (also known as Hokuto in The World), as she described the epic struggle of two challengers fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds, winning at last by teamwork. Then at last it ended, and most everyone had a thoughtful look upon their face.

That is, until the age old question was asked: "Where are we going?"

"We're cruising the Pacific on that gorgeous ship," Misato said offhandedly, gesturing to a rapidly approaching battle group.

Needless to say, a certain _otaku_ responded very enthusiastically to this.

"Wow! 5 carriers and 4 battleships! What a cool fleet! Yeah, it's good to have friends..." he moaned, seemingly on the edge of ecstasy.

"That ship's "gorgeous"?" asked Touji with a bit of incredulity. He really didn't see what all the fuss was about when it came to military hardware, much preferring to express interest in "wetware", that was to say, other people, particularly of the female variety.

"You bet it's gorgeous!" shot back Kensuke, eyes shining with excitement. "That's the supercarrier "Over the Rainbow," the pride of the U.N. Pacific Fleet!"

"That ship _is _pretty big," acknowledged Hikari, who was hoping that the helicopter would land soon so she would not have to deal with Kensuke's immaturity any longer. "But I wonder why a relic like that is still afloat?"

Now the bespectacled geek looked affronted, blustering: "Its not a relic…its vintage!" while a couple of people thought in their minds that it was all the same to them.

Then the helicopter came in for its final approach and landing, and even Kensuke shut up at the sight of fighter jets lined up perfectly on the flight deck and anti-aircraft guns.

"Its so…Wow! Too awesome!" he exploded, tearing up at the perceived beauty and grandeur of _Over the Rainbow_. "If you're a man, you have to weep at such a sight!

**

* * *

**

******Flight Deck - Aircraft Carrier USS _Over the Rainbow_, Flagship, UN Pacific Fleet**  


Kensuke's state of euphoric bliss did not wear off upon setting foot on the deck of the aircraft carrier, and though even Touji was mildly impressed by what was essentially a floating city of steel around him. Physical power was one of the things that he knew and understood very well, and though he did not go gaga over guns and steel, he had a healthy respect for it. That and the presence of Hikari was enough to keep him in line, even when the wind whisked his hat away.

"Hey, wait! Wait! Stop, damn it! Stop!" he cried, but to no avail. The mischievous zephyr has a mind of its own, and like its mother the wind will not be dissuaded from its course. So the jock watched helplessly as his new cap was blown along the deck…and smashed under the heel of a young woman in a sundress.

The first thoughts to cross his mind were '_HOT DAMN, SHE'S FINE!', _though in the next moment, he took an involuntary step backwards, as his mind made a rather unpleasant association: _'Wait…dat foreign girl looks like dat PK…exactly like the PK.'_

Suffice it to say that Touji would not have run forward to claim his cap, even if a slender hand had not dropped onto his shoulder at that moment.

A similar thought pattern crossed Kensuke's mind, though that went more long the lines of: '_Sukhoi Su-33 fighters. Yakovlev Yak-38 VTOL fighters. EA-6 Prowler electronic warfare craft. Eris the PK in a yellow sundress. E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning craft. Wait…what?'_

Hikari reserved judgment for now, but she had her suspicions. With the lessons that Aranami-sensei had been giving about the Epitaph, psychology, and each of us playing roles, she had become quite good at picking her way past masks. That, and if one is going to spend any significant amount of time around Rei Ayanami, one needs to learn to read subtle clues to mood and personality.

"Hello, Misato. How are you?" the German redhead was saying, causing the Idiot Duo to double take. This nubile young foreigner knew the babelicious major?

"As well as ever," Misato replied, looking over her former ward appreciatively. "You've grown tall, haven't you?"

"That's right!" Asuka responded with a cheerful smile. "And not just taller--my figure has filled out, too."

Misato nodded, and then gave Asuka a quizzical look before turning to the rest of those who had come along to observe.

"Let me introduce you to the exclusive pilot of Evangelion Unit Two, the Second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu."

It was then that Shinji chose to look up and meet Asuka's proud gaze, finding himself transfixed by a pair of curiously familiar blue eyes that sent a chill down his spine.

'_I feel like…I know her. But from where?'_

* * *

**Meanwhile, somewhere in The World**

Kazumi, a tall, curvaceous Steam Gunner dressed in finely woven chain mail, cursed as she ducked behind a boulder to evade an attack from a Solid Eye, a slow but powerful creature that hid its face under a shield: A face with an eye on top of another. Just when he thought he was clear of the dungeon, he had to run into this boss monster, nearly impenetrable due to its armor, which had to be worn down before the enemy would even begin to take serious damage.

It didn't help that it was flanked by two of its predecessors, Gaze Knights, which like it, were also immensely powerful and heavily armored. In fact, the only discernable difference between the Solid Eye and the Gaze Knight as the shield that the former hid its face between.

_**Boom! **_A massive metal fist slammed into the rock that she had been hiding behind, and she only barely rolled out of the way in time as the monsters lumbered towards her position, their limbs waving about threateningly as their eyes fixed themselves upon her.

_This is not good…especially not for me, since I'm a solo player…_

Kazumi snatched up her bayonet, the level 66 Gun Bead, and decided that it would be worth it to expend some SP on a skill.

"_**Tempest Blast!" **_she shouted, unleashing a hail of bullets against his enemies, whittling away their armor with his piercing area attack.

In the moment of confusion that resulted, one of the Gaze Knights crashed into the Solid Eye, immobilizing it for just long enough for her to pull out a Fire Stormscroll and call out _**"Vak Don!,"**_as great balls of fire rippled into existence and converged upon the ponderous beasts. They roared in pain and tried to turn to face her, but as long as Kazumi kept moving, she could evade them…which was good, because if they connected, she was dead.

"How's that for pink eye?" she taunted, dancing in close and bringing her weapon up to her shoulder again. A quick succession of shots, and the monsters fell back to her _**Thunder Spark **_skill, further knocking down their armor. Just a little more and she would be ready to attack, but not quite yet.

She drew out two more scrolls, Warrior's Blood and Earth Spike, and activated them before her opponents could recover. A glow appeared around her, and the Steam Gunner's physical attack stat was raised, as the skill "_**Gan Bolg" **_was cast, causing spires to rise from the ground and impale the trio of enemies.

_Now _was the time to strike, as Kazumi leapt backwards to avoid a swinging blow, but didn't manage to dodge all of it. With a sickening thud, her avatar was slammed into the dungeon wall, her bayonet clattering to the ground between the monsters.

The Steam Gunner felt sick. Has she spent so much time getting to the bottom of a dungeon, just to be defeated?

_No…that I refuse to accept. I will not lose after sacrificing so much in The World. I must…become…stronger!_

With that, Kazumi sprang from the wall into the air, her path describing a perfect arc as she pulled an older weapon out of inventory and opened fire.

"_**Flak Cannon!" **_she barked, as a veritable maelstrom of lead shot from the muzzle of her weapon, seriously damaging her foes and sending them staggering. She landed in the midst of them, put away her old weapon, and snatched up her Gun Bead in one smooth motion, before launching herself away from the monsters, skidding on her back towards the entrance to the chamber.

As the three demonic creatures stumbled towards her, a fierce grin lit up her face as she brought her bayonet up and unleashed hell. With unholy screams of agony as each piece of shrapnel carved its way into their unresisting flesh, the trio of monsters fell, vanishing from the dungeon in an explosion of data.

Breathing hard, Kazumi rose shakily to her feet. She had done it. She had gotten to the bottom of a—

"That was an impressive battle," intoned a coolly musical voice.

The Steam Gunner whirled, the muzzle of her weapon pointed at the speaker, who was by all appearances, a Shadow Warlock clad all in black, with flowing purple-black tresses and dark violet eyes. But the most curious thing about the mysterious new arrival was a silver infinity symbol that served as a brooch, gleaming out in the darkness of the dungeon.

"Who are you?" Kazumi hissed, wary that this might be a PK out to get her. There was no name floating above the other character, and that had her slightly worried, especially as she didn't remember the infinity symbol existing as part of legal character costume.

But the Shadow Warlock only looked amused, her violet eyes glinting dangerously as she whispered just loudly enough to hear:

"I am…The World."

Kazumi had a feeling something bad was about to happen, and even as she was looking at the Warlock, a ripple in the fabric of the dungeon caught her attention. A haunting sound like whalesong was heard as a golden dumbbell monster simply appeared above the Shadow Warlock's head. She opened fire, but this new creature simply extended tendrils from its two conjoined spheres and knocked her weapon away.

"Call off your creature. What do you want?" Kazumi asked, hoping to distract the Shadow Warlock for long enough to get to her weapon and hopefully eliminate the player who had summoned the monster.

"I want…that which you carry within," was the cryptic reply.

As the Sorceress in Black was answering, the Steam Gunner took her chance to dive for her weapon, but just as she seized it, a single needle of solidified jelly shot out and impaled her character, raising her up into the air.

"_**Data Drain" **_was the last thing that Kazumi heard before her world dissolved into pain, ending at last in perfect darkness.


	19. Login 06: The Best Laid Plans

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis: The Best Laid Plans**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Morganna's Apartment, Tokyo-3**

'_**Data Drain **__is still a most powerful ability in this new world,'_ reflected Morganna as she observed the virtual body of her victim evaporating away into bits of digital dust. Some might think of her as a monster for returning to her old ways and hunting down a player in The World, but the former goddess knew better. The data of the Phases was an extremely powerful thing, and Epitaph PCs could be somewhat difficult to control, given that the "Avatars" they could summon had personalities of their own.

The Dummy Epitaph, _or 'Dummy Morganna Factor'_, as she thought to herself, was even worse, being inherently unstable. A creation of Jyotaro Amagi, the man who would have become a virtual god, it had made to be a backup in case any of the Phases were corrupted, and thus had been compiled from a cross section of the others, giving it a smattering of all of their powers. When the R.A. Plan failed, it, like all of the others except Magus and Tarvos, had escaped into the global network.

_Time to assimilate this errant mirage…this False Key of Twilight… _

Using her coding skills, she combined the data of the Twilight Guardian with this new Phase Data Core, merging it with her character so that at last, she was once again a power in The World. Now the Sorceress in Black held a key to some of her old power, but integrating this particular program had done more than make her an Epitaph Wielder. It had given her some insight into the mind of its creator, a man who had placed himself before others and had lost his mind, a mind once considered to be on the level of Harald Howerick, her own creator. There were emotional echoes, stray thoughts in the program: echoes of pain, barely contained arrogance, and an overweening ambition that she could relate to in some ways…and the fact that she was compatible with this custom made Epitaph disturbed her,

_Am I really as flawed as the one caught in hubris? He wanted to become a god…I only wanted to survive. And yet, I have done worse than he…_

But what was done was done. In some ways, perhaps this Dummy Epitaph was better off in the hands of a strong-willed individual who knew its workings rather than someone who might eventually be taken over by its whispered agenda. In a way, in this new rebirth, where she reminisced about the past, she sought redemption.

_The greatest threat to us now is the AIDA...and if sacrificing my reputation is what it will take to redeem myself, so be it. My daughter Aura knew better than I in that regard, when she sacrificed herself to defeat me…_

She shook her head to clear it of such thoughts, for the hands of time could not be turned back, not even by one who was once a goddess. Only the future could be shaped, and when looked away into the hazy distance, one did not stop to consider the present.

"I bear the aberrant key in myself," she murmured, "the twin to the key of twilight. A final wave must be found, as the surge of rebirth becomes light and fills the world, the new gods returning to dusk once more. Destruction and creation twinned, in a powerless one as the stirring footsteps of a giant shadow sound."

It was a derivation of a lost part of the Epitaph, one that had been known her in her guise as the Prophet, and now it was restored. What remained was to find the Epitaph Wielder of Corbenik and convince him of the plan…

* * *

******Flight Deck - USS _Over the Rainbow_, Flagship, UN Pacific Fleet**  


Just as Misato was introducing Asuka to the others on deck, a freak gust of wind lifted the hem of her sundress, giving the Idiot Duo (who were just a fraction of an inch from quailing in fear), and the unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on how thinks of the situation) Third Child a view of her pink panties. The fiery redhead flushed in anger and rushed forward, intending on collecting her "viewing fee", as it were, in the form of slaps to the three boys.

To her point of view, anything that was male and walked on two legs immediately was classified as a pervert, unable to feel any emotion but base lust, and thus objects to be used. Her father hadn't really cared for anyone, either her or her mother, and had remarried quickly after her mother's death.

_Lies…that's all grownups ever speak. Lies. I will punish them.__ Verdammen Sie!__I will not let those pigs humiliate me!_

With a twisted grin of schadenfreude, the Second Child charged towards the first of the males, intending to deliver a slap powerful enough to knock out even the biggest of jocks, but as her hand blurred through the air, Asuka felt a jarring sensation as someone…blocked her.

It was one of the two girls, specifically the one with pigtails of lustrous black hair, who radiated serious demeanor, though there was something of a hard edge to her, it seemed.

"Why did you try to hit Mr. Suzuhara?" the Class Representative asked, her voice a sliver from absolute zero as she held the redhead's gaze.

Asuka was not expecting this, and involuntarily took a step backwards before realizing that she had done so.

"Payment for the view," she replied, trying to establish something of a bond with the other girl. After all, they had to stick together against the perversions of idiot boys, right? "He deserved it for peeping at me."

"Huh?" butted in Touji. "Then I'll show you the same—OW!"

"It wasn't his fault that you're wearing a sundress on a windy ship," Hikari shot back, using her famed "Ear Pull" technique to subdue to the foolish jock.

"Who are you anyway? His girlfriend?" Asuka returned, breaking the Class Representative's cool and causing her to blush furiously, stuttering a bit.

"N-no, its nothing like that," she replied a little too quickly. "I am Hikari Horaki, Representative of Class 2-A, where the other two pilots are."

'_Hikari…the light,' _thought Asuka, eyes widening as she mentally replayed a scene from The World in her head, where she had been ambushed by a non-too-friendly Flick Reaper. Said Reaper had taunted her with the following words, words that came back upon hearing this girl's name and seeing her demeanor: "_In life, I am called the light. In The World, Tomoyami of the Shadow is my name, weakling!"_

Sometimes, as Asuka was discovering in both worlds, discretion really was the better part of Valor, and with a huff, she turned to Misato, eager to get a certain question of hers answered.

"So, which is the much-discussed Third Child?" she asked, looking over the three candidates. One was the perverted jock who seemed like he was going to flash her, another seemed a whiny geek who couldn't hold his own in PE, much less and EVA, and the third…well, he seemed rather dull, and apparently had a girlfriend who looked like a fragile porcelain doll.

_Dolls…how I despise dolls…and worse, the bluenette player characters in The World who had the audacity to call me a doll, when they are but dolls themselves. Why should I not be surprised that I am surrounded by those things that I most hate?_

Misato remained quiet for a moment, letting her silence speak for itself in an attempt to unnerve the Second Child. A successful one, at that, as the longer Asuka looked at the group, the more she began to think that Misato wasn't answering due to how badly she would take it. At long last, the Second could not stand it.

"Don't tell me it's _**THAT**_ boy?" the redhead asked incredulously, words dripping with horror and disdain as she pointed, pointing at Touji, whose eyes twitched with annoyance at the unspoken implications in that statement.

"No, this one," Misato said, pointing to Shinji, who looked over, startled at being pointed out.

"He seems…" Asuka began, but trailed off, unable to find a word to complete her sentence. Though he had appeared dull at first, there was something about him that seemed, for lack of a better word, off.

* * *

**United Nations Ship **_**Over the Rainbow**_**, Mess Hall**

As might be expected, the Admiral and his bridge officers were none too pleased about having even more teenagers on board. This was an aircraft carrier, not a daycare facility, after all! But, as NERV's was a special agency of the UN, and as such, its strategic authority did exceed the fleet in case of an emergency, it wouldn't be prudent to show too much disregard for their motives. Still, bitterness made itself quite apparent in the choice of words, referring to the Evangelion as a toy, refusing to relinquish command, etc.

Misato had remained calm though, icily reminding the officer that NERV's authority exceeded that of the Pacific Fleet in the event of an emergency. But even she grew flustered at the entrance of dashing rogue. His name, as said in many different variations (and in many tones from scathing to puppy-eyed adoration), was Ryoji Kaji, and he was instantly recognizable by his ponytail and 5-o'clock-shadow. For Misato, it was as if the crypts of long buried memories had opened, and it was all she could do to keep her composure until they were out of general earshot.

"What are you doing here?" Captain Katsuragi demanded, eyes flashing dangerously.

Kaji chuckled and shrugged, easygoing and charming as he'd always been.

"Accompanying her," he said, motioning to Asuka. "I'm on a business trip from Germany."

At that, Misato's voice dropped to sub audible as she mumbled: "I'm getting careless... I should have expected this situation..."

With this in mind, having everyone crowd into the elevator may not have been the wisest decision, as too many people would be brushing up against each other. Granted, Lycoris and Shinji didn't exactly mind being in close proximity, and Touji and Hikari secretly didn't mind one another's company (not that they'd admit it willingly), but that still left the Misato/Kaji tension and a hostile Asuka to deal with.

By the time everyone was down to the mess hall, verbal inquiries and barbs were being exchanged, and Asuka had left the area, eager for her quarters again after the frustration of dealing with the other teens.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Kaji asked Misato, curious about his own chances of getting back together with her.

"And when did that become any of you business?" she snapped in reply

"Oh, you wound me," the rouge replied melodramatically, hand over his heart as the teenagers looked on. Then he focused his attention on the Third Child. "Are you living with Katsuragi?"

"Yes, Kaji-san," was the answer.

"Tell me, is she still so wild in bed?" he probed sardonically.

"Wh-- wh-- what are you implying!" stammered the lavender haired captain, just as Shinji made the offhand comment: "She tosses and turns, and mumbles something about her last boyfriend being a minuteman when the alarm clock rings."

Kaji winced, not expecting a flippant remark -- and apparently one disparaging his prowess, at that. Wasn't the Third Child supposed to be meek and compliant, according to the information the spy had obtained from his sources? Clearly there was something he was missing…maybe it was the involvement of the silver-haired girlfriend, since in his experience, being with beautiful women certainly gave _him_ more confidence.

"She hasn't changed, then, Shinji Ikari?"

Shinji's eyes narrowed, but it was Lycoris who asked: "How do you know his name, Kaji-san?"

"You're famous in my circle," Kaji admitted, "the Third Child who piloted Eva in combat without training, and defeated 3 Angels. But you have me at a disadvantage, my dear. Who might you be?"

"Reimeiki Hakubo," Lycoris said softly, returning to her pattern of simply observing.

"I…I have something to protect," said Shinji, flushing slightly as he glanced at his companion, who caught him looking, as she usually did.

"You are more mature than I thought you would be. See you later."

With that, the pony tailed special agent of NERV walked off, leaving Misato all but banging her head on the table in frustration, longing for a drink - or five - to wash away her embarrassed mortification.

"This has to be a dream…a very very bad dream…"

* * *

**United Nations Ship **_**Over the Rainbow**_, **Asuka's Quarters**

Though Asuka had checked (several times), there was still no network connectivity to be had for civilian purposes, and this continued to be a point of frustration. She had been unable to administer the punishments that some of those _children_ had so fittingly deserved for peeping at her body, all due to the intervention of a certain pigtailed girl who reminded her a little too much of Tomoyami, particularly the way that said Flick Reaper had soundly defeated her in battle just a week prior.

_Verdammen interfering bitch! Why doesn't she realize that that jock and the others deserve a little pain? Or maybe she feels like she has to be the one in charge…she's probably some leather clad—_

Asuka dismissed those thoughts before they went down a path she didn't particularly feel like following…after all, her character in The World wore leather as well. And speaking of The World, oh how she wished she could just go into The World and cleave a few pervert in two with her powerful broadsword. She had grown more powerful since her humiliating defeat at Tomoyami's hands, which again reeked of interference by that bluenette Skari. If she ever found out who he really was, she would be sure to inflict punishment on him the likes of which no one had ever seen before…now that she was coming to Japan, there was a higher chance she'd run into the player behind that character, but what were the odds, really?

_Too bad I will probably have to settle for tormenting him online. I have to become stronger at any cost, and lay claim to that most powerful of Edge Punisher weapons, the Deadly Fearblade, or to do a literal translation, the "Certain Kill Ikari." Yes…Ikari…anger and hate…the two greatest of emotions to protect yourself with, never letting others close enough to hurt you…_

She needed a distraction from the bare metal walls and rolling waves, or she would likely go out of her mind with frustr—

The door opened, and Ryoji Kaji walked in, to Asuka's delight. Kaji was one person she could always tolerate, no matter what. And at the very least, he was nice to look at, though the words coming from his mouth weren't.

"What do you think about Shinji Ikari?" he asked.

Asuka made a disgusted face at the mention of the name of the vaunted Third Child. For all the buzz about him and the talk about how he single-handedly defeated two Angels with no prior combat experience, he seemed a boring little boy. A shy, withdrawn weakling like those she broke in The World, who dated a doll at that!

"He's the great Third Child?" she echoed. "He's so dull. I'm disappointed!"

"Keep in mind that his synch-ratio exceeded 40 in combat, without training," the spy replied dryly, leading to Asuka's mouth dropping open much in the way of Shinji's startled fish technique.

"Mien Gott! That can't be true!" she cried out. "It's unbelievable! Don't lie to me!"

Kaji, knowing better than to bother Asuka when she believed she was right, said nothing and left the room. Meanwhile, thoughts of impressing the Third Child began to brew in Asuka's mind…if he were truly so powerful in combat, perhaps he would be a valuable trophy to conquer…

* * *

**United Nations Ship **_**Over the Rainbow**_**, Mess Hall**

"That captain was completely arrogant!" complained Touji, who was not exactly happy about the degrading comments from the officer in charge of the ship. Nursery? He thought not…the jock could easily take care of himself.

"He's a proud man," Misato replied in a rare moment of insight. "He can't help but be cynical toward us."

"The Second Child was worse," Hikari interjected. "She thinks she has the right to punish everyone for accidents, just because of who she is. Ikari-kun's a pilot, and he isn't that arrogant, isn't that right, Hakubo-san?"

The silver-haired girl blushed slightly, twirling her hair with her fingers.

"Ikari-kun is special…but I think the Second Child has had a hard past," she murmured. "She puts up a false front, a mirage of deceit in order to hide her vulnerable core. It is like Hedgehog's dilemma, where the closer people get to one another, the harder it is to avoid being hurt."

The other teens considered this thoughtfully for a moment, as Misato took a close look at Lycoris, intrigued as to how the young girl in red might have known about Asuka's past. Perhaps she was simply insightful, or maybe…

"So you're Hakubo-san," Misato said, eyes flashing with mischief as she found a target to tease. "Are you Shinji-kun's girlfriend? I always thought he had a crush on Rei."

Well, the question was out in the open now, along with the common implication of "Shinji as Player", a theory that had found ample room to propagate in school, thanks to the efforts of the Idiot Duo, and little oddities here and there.

The couple blushed and looked at one another, before Shinji reached over and took Lycoris' hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, go Shinji!" wolf-whistled Touji, only to fall silent at a withering gaze from the class representative. The first citizen of Class 2-A apparently still had a good amount of power over behaviors when not in the classroom, possibly because of her ability to carry through with her threats.

After a moment of silence, Kensuke voiced what everyone had been thinking: "Since we all play The World, did that German girl seem at all like a PK we've all met? The one who followed us to **Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat**?"

"You mean…Eris?" asked Shinji, receiving a chorus of nods in return. Now that he thought about it consciously, there _were_ some similarities between the two. Both were well built, with fiery red hair and piercing blue eyes, and both as well seemed to like showing off their bodies, while accusing anyone who looked of being perverted, even if it was an accident…

As if on cue, the German fireball, Asuka Langley Soryu, appeared in the doorway.

"Third Child!" she barked imperiously, "Come with me."

* * *

**Pacific Fleet, Transport Ship for Evangelion Unit-02 **

"Its red. I didn't expect that," murmured Shinji upon first seeing the production model Eva. Then again, with Unit-00 painted in a garish shade of orange and Unit-01 the product of some post modernist paint scheme in purple and green, finding an Eva in a bright primary color wasn't what he had expected. Apparently, the German branch of NERV was more driven by aesthetics than Tokyo-3.

"That's not the only difference," boasted the Second Child, eager to show why she was the best. "After all, Unit-00 and Unit-01 are only prototypes, test models in the development process. The fact that it synchronized with you, (and here she sneered) an untrained boy, is proof of that. Unit-02 is a true Evangelion, the first of the production models built for actual combat."

She posed heroically, only to fall flat on her face as the boat rocked violently.

"What's happening?" Shinji asked, shaken, moving towards the deck to see what was going on. But Asuka, having been at sea for a few days longer and consequently having gotten her sea legs, beat him to it.

"Shock wave in the water!" she relayed, all business now. "Something exploded nearby."

Shinji knew of only one thing that might go after an entire fleet, with the world united under the UN against an extra-planetary threat. And his suspicions were confirmed as Gaghiel shot out of the water, its massive body and long jaws of razor-sharp teeth enough to inspire fear in anyone…especially as it proceeded to destroy ship after ship, getting closer and closer to the transport they were on.

"That's an Angel!" said Shinji, "I have to get back to Misato-san."

To Asuka's credit, she reacted just about as quickly without knowing the power that an Angel held. However, her reaction was more geared towards two things: 1) showing off, and 2) self-preservation, since the _thing_ was coming steadily closer to the ship the two Children were on.

"Now's my chance!" she exclaimed, grabbing Shinji and pulling him below-decks.

"Hey, where are we going?" the Third Child asked, confused, before looking over to Eva-02 and blanching. They were going to take an untested Eva into battle, and worse, it looked like it was fitted with the B-type equipment, which was entirely unsuitable for underwater combat. So he'd learned the hard way from practice in the virtual room…

Then, Asuka shoved him into a corner and ducked behind a door, calling out: "Wait here a second."

Realizing that if Asuka was anything like Eris, she would have his head if he did anything possibly construed as perverted, Shinji looked in his backpack for anything he might be able to use. As it happened, he had been given one of his modified plugsuits, as he was expected for another VR training immediately after this mission. He quickly stripped down and changed into the outfit, the flowing silvery lines upon it glimmering in the darkness.

Asuka, having finished changing, was both pleased and annoyed that the Third Child hadn't peeped at her. Granted, maybe he wasn't as much of a perverted idiot as she thought, but didn't he find her attractive? And hadn't this been an excellent opportunity for him to indulge in his fantasies so that she could guilt trip him about it later?

"Boys are such idiots!" she muttered, emerging from the small room to come face to face with the Third Child, dressed in a plugsuit that seemed oddly familiar.

_I feel that I should recognize this design, but I don't. Too bad I won't have the pleasure of making him wear one of my plug suits…that would have been amusing to see._

Her lips twitched up into a smirk as she brought up a mental image of what the Third Child would have looked like in a female plugsuit.

"Lets go," Shinji said suddenly, interrupting her train of thought. It was strange how determined he looked, and Asuka rather liked that more than how weak he seemed before.

"Don't you need my permission to use my Unit Two? Or Misato-san's permission?" she asked pointedly, recalling his earlier uncertainty.

"Permission doesn't matter if we die. Lets worry about that after we win," he replied, already on his way to the Eva.

Grumbling something under her breath about a baka who wanted to steal the limelight, Asuka climbed into the entry plug of her Eva Unit, taking care to stay as distant from the perhaps perverted male as she could.

"Here I go," she said, "Now you'll get to see how skillful a true pilot is. Just don't distract me from claiming my kill."

As Asuka began her startup sequence, Shinji volunteered a bit of information that she wished she had known earlier.

"Just to point something out, I don't know German," said the Third Child, leading Asuka to curse mentally.

_Verdammen__ Sie!__Why do I have to put up with such incompetence? Everyone knows that German is the best of all languages._

"None at all?"

"Err…bratwurst, _Scheiße, rotten, ritter, Wotan, _sauerkraut?" he attempted lamely, knowing that he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Baka! Fine, switch the base thought language to Japanese," Asuka growled in irritation. "Evangelion Unit Two, activate!"

As the powerful red mecha activated, a flurry of signals were sent to the bridge and back, with both the Admiral and Misato jockeying for control. But with the Eva in motion, it didn't really matter…NERV had _de facto _control of the situation.

In the Eva, two things were painfully apparent to Shinji: 1) the Eva was carrying B-type Equipment, and 2) that the power gauge was steadily counting down.

"If this falls into the sea, it's over," he muttered.

"And if it doesn't fall, we're okay!" answered Asuka fiercely, ready for the excitement of her first battle.

On Misato's commands, the two pilots of the Evangelion began a highly destructive game of hopscotch as they came closer and closer to _Over the Rainbow, _Gaghiel close on their trail. They arrived with seconds to spare, transferring to the emergency power socket's feed just as the battery was about to give out.

"Transfer to the external power source complete," the Second Child reported, as something popped into her head.

_We have no firearms, just a prog-knife—_

"But we have no firearms," said Shinji, seemingly echoing her thoughts. Well, she couldn't appear weak in front of him, could she?

"The Prog-knife can deal with it," she harrumphed, putting on a show of bravado that she didn't really feel. B-type Equipment, only a prog-knife, an angel attack at sea…this wasn't shaping out as a good day.

Then the Second felt a mental tremor, as the Third Child motioned for the Eva to deploy a second prog-knife, as that was what he had grown comfortable with in simulations.

"Hey, don't take over my Eva!" she scolded, just as Gaghiel leapt up to attack, and Shinji executed a classic attack pattern of using the enemy's momentum against it, slamming one blade into the gullet of the beast, and then whirling to stab it in the back.

"Don't you have any projectiles on this mech?" he asked, distracted by the effort of fending off a massive opponent at sea. "This _is_ a 'true' Evangelion, right?"

Asuka flinched, annoyed both that her barb was being returned to her, and that she had forgotten about the internal weapon rack in the right shoulder that fired needle packs.

"I'll take over from here," she said confidently, as the Angel leapt out of the water again, and the conflict of control signals left the Eva unprepared. The Second managed to strafe the enemy with its spike cannon, but the impact was great enough to knock Evangelion Unit-02 into the water.

"_Scheiße!" _both pilots said in unison, as the Eva began to sink, its controls freezing up, not that that hadn't been expected.

"Asuka, underwater battle is impossible with B-equipment!" crackled Misato's voice from over the intercom.

"You don't know until you try," shot back the Second Child, even as the Eva missed the target, and the cable ran out. Gaghiel, intending to devour its now helpless prey, came around for a second strike, even as Asuka realized the futility of her efforts.

"What? It's not working!" was pretty much her reaction, not that it hadn't been expected. "You're the almighty Third Child, aren't you? Do something!"

"Here it comes," whispered Shinji, as the cavernous maw of the beast came closer and closer to them. Then something hit him. "We have to let it swallow us, or at least get into its mouth."

"M—mouth?" cried Asuka, not expecting that reaction. "What, are you insane, Third?"

"Its an Angel…this is the only way to get past its AT Field," was the reply of a hyperfocused pilot, on the very verge of berserker fury. There was no time for a second opinion, as the Angel was successful in taking Eva Unit Two inside its body, much to the shock and horror of those on the bridge.

"Does that mean Eva was eaten?" goggled Touji, in disbelief that Shinji could have been beaten so easily.

"He has a plan," murmured Lycoris, soft words of tranquility that was pitched just high enough to cut through the chaos. "Trust him."

"Well, we're in a tight spot," joked Shinji, only to be shoved aside by Asuka.

"Shut up! You got us into this mess, jerk!" she snarled

"But we have to get deeper inside…if we don't destroy the core, the Angel will still be alive. There's no other way."

"But the B-type equipment…" Asuka protested.

"Didn't you just say, 'you don't know until you try', or are you afraid? You trained for this, I didn't."

The Second Child had never been particularly good at shrugging off words, and an attack on both her courage and her skill was most definitely unacceptable.

"Nothing is ever too much for the great Asuka Langley Soryu," she said proudly, showing that bravado again. "And since you got us eaten, I'll just have to make the best of this, won't I?"

In the belly of the beast sat the pulsating red core, just waiting for someone to slam a prog knife into it. Unfortunately, the Eva was not capable of rapid motion underwater, but maybe.

"Firing needle pack!"

Flechettes, well known as short range, high impact weapons, lanced through the water from the shoulder mount of the Eva towards the core of the Angel, impacting it and cracking the core with sustained fire. The Angel began to grow frantic as its innards took damage, attempting to violently crush the Evangelion in its maw before it could do any more damage.

It wasn't quite successful, and it looked like our two pilots had finally gotten the upper hand, when misfortune struck and the Eva ran out of ammunition.

_Scheiße! And so close too…_

"Any other ideas, Third Child?" Asuka asked irately. Dying in her first battle was not the way she had planned her life, especially as she had trained for this since she was four, and her co-pilot had beaten three Angels while almost completely untrained.

"We can throw a prog knife into the core. That should be enough," Shinji answered manner-of-factly, eyes glinting fiercely.

"And how do you propose to open its mouth? Because if can't open the mouth, we'll be destroyed, too."

"We will," Shinji replied cryptically, even as he began to mentally chant his first NERV mantra again, _'Center the target, pull the switch. Center the target, pull the switch. Center the target, PULL THE SWITCH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!'_

"Open," chanted the two pilots, focusing their thoughts. "Open, open, open!"

The mouth opened, just as the prog-knife was thrown with all the strength an Eva could muster, the high pressure of the inrushing water only adding to its speed, as it slammed into the damaged core, and critically damaged it. It began to glow ominously, brighter and brighter, as the Eva kicked away from the Angel.

"Reel us in, now!" called out Asuka, just as the Angel exploded into brilliance and the shockwave blasted the Eva towards the surface and the sun. Its path was a perfect arc into the air towards the carrier, and it managed a landing well enough, though it nearly swamped _Over the Rainbow, _and ended up tossing the rest of the planes overboard.

The entry plug ejected and the Eva dropped to its knees, slumping as if exhausted from a fierce battle. Not that that could be, thought Misato. The Eva was only a machine, right? Its not as if it had a will of its own.

The two pilots emerged, still squabbling, but not quite hostile to each other anymore.

"Maybe you aren't incompetent as you seem after all," Asuka acknowledged, which coming from her, was a high compliment.

"Likewise, oh great Asuka Langley Soryu," Shinji replied in a half-mocking tone.

* * *

**The Creator's Room, Hidden Area of The World**

Morganna made her way towards a room of white, a mysterious place of blank walls, with only a wooden chair in the middle. This was one of Harald's Rooms, dating back to the time of Fragment, created as a sort of cradle for Aura. This was a place where a complete copy of the Epitaph had been held, long ago, and only those who possessed fragments from the past might enter here.

_Or perhaps not. Since the disappearance of my Aura and the coming of the AIDA, there were other paths opened to here…paths such as—_

The bearer of the aberrant Key stopped cold, as she saw that the room was once again damaged, and not by her this time. No, this time there was a black and red three-edged marking on the ground, surrounding the rickety old rocking chair. And in the chair sat a little girl with blue-green hair a little past her shoulders, pale skin, and some kind of white gothic lolita style dress.

_A Lost One. And yet there is activity in her…she is linked to…them._

Here too, black spots faded in and out of view at the edges of her vision, and Morganna, knowing what they were, remained cautious. The last thing she needed was to become infected by AIDA herself, as that would likely destroy what control she had over the Dummy Epitaph, and that would be…unwise if allowed to happen.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Sorceress in Black noted the arrival of a haggard Steam Gunner, one dressed mostly in blue tones, with traces of leather scattered throughout his outfit, a long, flowing blue scarf, and a pair of orange sunglasses. He seemed mournful about something, as he looked first to the remnants of the room, and then to the girl in the chair, Aina.

However, it wasn't that that intrigued Morganna, but the huge metal cylinder covering the Steam Gunner's left arm, equipped with a lock of all things.

_A firewall of sorts to control a rogue program within And I can sense in him a fragment of my former self…Ovan, Epitaph Wielder of Corbenik._

"Greetings…Tri-Edge," she intoned a coolly musical voice, while making no movements that could be interpreted as threatening. The former goddess knew very well the power of the Rebirth, and while she might well have challenged him under different circumstances, the fact that he also wielded the power of an AIDA caused her to act with more caution. "Or should I say Ovan, Epitaph Wielder of Cobernik?"

_AIDA… Agent of ID Dominating Activity…AIDA are drawn to human emotions, and heighten the base emotions. They are agents of id, as it were, Freud's unconsciousness, drives that grant great power but can cause immense destruction as well. And the wielder of the last and most powerful of the Phases has become infected…_

The Steam Gunner straightened and looked in her direction, a flash of light coming from the orange sunglasses he wore.

"You know of me?" he asked.

"I know all within The World, as I was The World, Cobernik. Your Avatar was once a part of me, the last part within The World."

"Morganna, the Cursed Wave." It was not a question, but a statement of certainty. Ovan could sense Tri-Edge within him wishing to stir once more, but he kept the powerful AIDA under control with the help of his partial firewall.

"So I have been called, though I am not the one hunted in this day. No, that would be Tri-Edge, wouldn't it, the great PK?

Ovan remained quiet, saying only: "A long time ago, there was a goddess here, seated within The World."

"Aura."

"The Key of Twilight, and guide to truth."

Morganna stepped towards and around Ovan, analyzing his PC and how he affected the surrounding realm. It seemed that the other AIDA could come closer or further away from him as he chose…_can it be that he can control the AIDA by virtue of his dark infection?_

"You seek the Key…to free yourself of your burden…you seek the key for rebirth and redemption. But do you know the paths that you may take? There are but one way for you to be cured, as well as your…sister."

"The Goddess may intervene. That is why I seek her."

Morganna took a moment to quote from the Epitaph of Twilight, knowing that the Steam Gunner would understand her.

"_Shunning the field broken by Wave._

_The shadowed girl whispers,_

_"Surely, I will return."_

_Alas, the truth unbeknownst._

_Awaiting her at journey's end;_

_Eternal mourning for her land._

"Aura has returned to the wind, as was her destiny, and has already intervened, creating the Three Azure Knights from memories of The World's heroes," Morganna related to Ovan. "As during the Age of Twilight, it is the players who must decide their own destiny."

"There is another path?" he asked levelly.

"There is only one option, as there has been from the beginning. The destruction of Tri-Edge and Cobernik, of the aberrant key and the final key to twilight," she intoned gravely. "Your phase is The Rebirth, and when last destroyed, it reset the global network so that Aura could ascend."

"My destruction is the key to rebirth?"

"Yes. It is your Avatar's ability, and the only way you can save…Aina."

To Ovan's credit, he remained impassive, except for a subtle wince that almost went unnoticed.

"My power—"

"—exceeds that of the system's defenders. Cast them as the true enemy, as you raise one powerful enough to defeat even you. Cast aside your terror of the future, and seek the Terror of Death, Tri-Edge. Do you see your path, Ovan? You must walk The World and become stronger, seeking the one who will defeat you. Train him and use him as you will, but his power is your only hope. Remember the power of betrayal, that the higher something is dropped, the worse the crash will be. Hope is the best spice to bring out despair."

"Destiny is not decided on the whim of a goddess," Ovan murmured.

"I am not deciding your fate. Seek the Key of Twilight if you wish, but know the Key lies within yourself…the key to rebirth and the key to shadow…the Key to overturning everything."

"The Shadow…Cubia, the Hidden One."

"Yes. The Anti-existence, grown far stronger than in the time of twilight, who only The Rebirth and the Terror of Death may together defeat. Each of the Epitaphs together equals the power of a Twilight Bracelet, and there are 8 Phases, 8 Avatars…the destruction of the Gomoras will be fierce, if they are not stopped. And through your path, you will awaken him, and thus must destroy him as well."

"What do you gain from this, Morganna?"

"We're alike, you and I. Victims of the worst possible fate…penitents seeking redemption, though it will cost us our souls…all we can do is not run away," the Sorceress in Black said, with a touch of sadness in her voice. "You know of the dangers of the aberrant key, that the AIDA pose to all in this world and the other. Will you take the risk that my daughter will not intervene? "

"AIDA. AI Deciding as Attorney. Tri-Edge took away my control and caused tragedy to be committed. Is that your nature as well, Cursed Wave?"

"Perhaps. For there to be a hero, there must be a villain worthy of the hero, for every Bellerophon, a Chimera. Do we understand one another, my son?"

"I will still seek Aura, and her aid."

"And if that fails?"

"I will take your path."

"Very well. It is not an easy one, but then, what is? I am the rebirth of the Wave, just as you are," noted Morganna with a bit of amusement. "Take your Lost Weapon from the End of the World, and grow stronger. And you have undoubtedly heard this many times, and said it as well, but Ovan: _**'Welcome to the World.**_'"


	20. Logout 09: Smoke and Mirrors

**.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Smoke and Mirrors**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

For most people, the only two certainties in life were death and taxes. This was no exception to the residents of Tokyo-3, who not only had to worry about everyday crimes like drive-by shootings and muggings, but other hazards like being trampled underfoot by an Eva, or having an "Angel" come down and decide that their building needed to be demolished. And if that wasn't enough, maintaining each of the Evangelions usually ended up costing as much as the dietary needs of a small nation. Thus, suffice it to say that the words "tax cut" weren't even up to being argued by any political party at this point.

Of course, this was only the case if one was a legal adult. As a student, life was much worse much of the time, as in addition to these things, there was the additional factor of school, where one worked without pay in what was normally a very tedious and tiresome environment. The former teacher of classroom 2-A had not been the exception, but rather the rule -- with such a low payrate, it was a wonder why any of them would choose the job to begin with. Perhaps it was due to the tenure that came with the position, and the minimal expectations? It certainly wasn't for the great benefits, as demonstrated by how many of them engaged in slightly less than legal activities, which is incidentally how Morganna could afford to furnish her apartment so well.

And so it was that we find the Three Stooges sitting in their usual classroom, with Kensuke and Touji gathered around Shinji's desk in the moments before class started.

"I'm just glad that we don't have to deal with that demon girl anymore," the jock said, while glancing around to make sure no one else was listening in, paranoid that Hikari might be watching. The Class Rep was prone to swooping down upon him whenever he was doing anything that even hinted at being inappropriate, but surprisingly, she wasn't there at the moment, which Touji took to be a minor miracle. "She was…something else."

"Yeah, at least we'll never have to see her again," Kensuke chimed in, though he couldn't resist a sly jab at Shinji's situation. "But you can't avoid meeting her because of your job…though from the looks of it, you're trying to add another one to your harem. What, Ayanami and Hakubo not enough for you?"

As Shinji relapsed into one of his patented tomato-red blushes, his cheeks shining like bad sunburn, the class door opened, and everyone's attention was drawn to three—no, four figures entering the room.

The first was the silver-haired Reimeiki (Lycoris), the second the vaunted teacher named Yumi Aranami, who had a habit of wearing black, the third the class rep, and the fourth—

Touji, Kensuke, and Shinji did a collective double take at the sight of the fourth figure walking to the front of the classroom: Asuka Langley Soryu, Second Child, fireball extraordinaire, time bomb waiting to explode, and new source of teasing for poor poor Shinji.

From the corner, Rei Ayanami regarded her with interest, noting how closely the Second Child resembled a certain PK in The World, and how vibrantly…red…the Second was. Red was, after all, the color that she hated…and all the more so because of a certain Eris, whose irrational actions posed a threat to all around her. If the Second resembled the PK in more than form, which was likely, then her presence was no benefit at all for anyone's scenario.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Entering Classroom 2-A**

As for Asuka Langley Soryu, she was not exactly happy about having to attend middle school once again. _Verdammt! _She was a college graduate, and this was just a waste of her time…or so she told herself, though admittedly her kanji could use a little bit of work. After getting settled in at NERV, getting her measurements for some kind of "enhanced" plugsuit (she couldn't but find that mildly perverted, no matter how hard she tried), and being informed of her new living quarters in NERV's barracks, she was mildly annoyed to have to deal with other, most likely immature perverts.

Or so she had thought as she was being dropped off at the Municipal Junior High School, noting its quaint appearance that seemed not at all appropriate for a post-modern fortress city. It seemed so…plain…much as she expected from this country, so different from her beloved _Deutschland._ Though it seemed that she wasn't quite alone in being from the fatherland, as the teacher and one of the students, the silver-haired girl that she had met on "Over the Rainbow" knew the German tongue intimately.

The teacher had surprised her, not being a boring old lecher or a lavender-haired bimbo as one might expect (maybe she'd been watching too much anime?), but rather a woman of obvious refinement, who seemed almost…noble, like a warrior queen of sorts. That and there was something about her that was just a little frightening…like the look that a raven might give you before croaking "Nevermore."

They had talked for a while on things in Germany, in her native tongue, and in the process, some of the expected work for the class had been mentioned. To Asuka's shock, much of it curriculum revolved around the Epitaph of Twilight and The World, two things that she thought she would have no trouble with at all. Until, of course, Morganna had brought up an attempted disruption of her class at **Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat**, which caused her a great deal of worry, as she had been that PK. And if this meant that those idiots Arano and Aruna, or worse, the bitch Tomoyami were here…things would probably not go well.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of discord," the teacher had said, eyes glinting in amusement. "It keeps things interesting and everyone on their toes. I am often reminded of how root cause of the Trojan War was the fact that the gods kept Eris from their table. Wouldn't you agree?"

There was something…knowing about that tone, and Asuka felt herself reeling mentally.

_Does she know who I am? But that's…impossible…right?_

Yumi Aranami then explained the main reason that Reimeiki was here, as she would be working as Asuka's partner for now. As much as the Second did not enjoy the company of those who looked liked dolls, this was at least offset by her German heritage and the fact that she had offered friendship so readily.

"Hello, Soryu-san," the silver haired one had said, with a faint smile on her lips. "My name is Reimeiki Hakubo, and I think you remember me from _Over the Rainbow._ Lets be good friends!"

Asuka was slightly taken aback by this, but agreed after a moment.

"Well, I guess you're better than that lecherous oaf, who wanted to flash me," she replied to the sound of a peal of laughter from the other.

"Suzuhara does usually act without thinking," Lycoris allowed, with a chuckle. "But I know he means well…he takes good care of those he cares for."

"You sound almost like you like him," ribbed Asuka, never one to pass up an opportunity for verbal dominance.

"No, that would be Horaki-inchou's job," Lycoris demurred, eyebrows rising and falling once. "You'll enjoy meeting her again, I think…as long as you respect her authority in class. She's very much like you…like a shadow to a flame, particular about your appearances."

The silver-haired girl trailed off, leaving Asuka to deal with her thoughts again…

_Shadow. The class representative of 2-A. Hikari. The light. This is getting curiouser and curiouser—_

At that moment, the teacher broke in, her tone wryly amused.

"Well, everything seems to be sorted out, so if you would follow me, you can introduce yourself to the rest of the class, though I hear from Reimeiki that you've met some of the others before, including one of the two other pilots."

With that, the instructor opened the door of the conference room, outside of which waited Class Representative Hikari Horaki, as was usual policy when encountering a transfer student. Blue eyes flashed against brown, as the temperature dropped precipitously. This was Hikari's domain now, and she had the power to utterly destroy anyone she didn't particularly care for. Yes, she took her duties seriously, but that didn't mean that her personal feelings never got in the way, as anyone who had seen her interacting with Touji knew very well.

"Good day, Soryu-san," the Class Rep said icily, as she took in the unwelcome presence of the arrogant redhead. "Do try not to abuse anyone else on your way to the classroom, will you?"

"I had no intention of doing so, Horaki-inchou," Asuka replied, her voice taking on rather sub-arctic qualities as well. One could almost imagine a virtual fight scene, with John Williams' "Duel of the Fates" playing in the background…

The two remained locked in a battle of glares, neither willing to give an inch in the battle for dominance as the others looked on, amused. Morganna was always interested in the interaction of human beings, and teenagers tended to be more extreme than most…in this case, acting like two rivals mentally sparring for territory.

Someone in the main office must have accidentally triggered the PA system at that moment, for "Duel of the Fates" came on over the speaker system, causing the Class Rep and the Second Child to jump apart with nervous laughter.

"I think we all got off on the wrong foot," interjected Lycoris, a smile in her eyes. "Why don't we try this again…Hikari-san, this is Asuka Langley Soryu, the Second Child. Asuka-san, Hikari Horaki, the Class Representative."

Almost unwillingly, but feeling bound by the rituals of greeting, they extended their hands and shook, gauging the other from every slight indicator.

"Ladies, that was supposed to be a handshake, not a duel to the death by palm," Morganna noted acerbically, causing another round of strangled-half-laughter to emerge. "If you want to settle things later by a duel in The World, feel free, but at least refrain from open hostilities in my classroom."

Cordial though it was, the two rivals could feel a threatening undercurrent in their teacher's voice, and this time shook hands with a little less animosity. Seeing this, the former Goddess of The World nodded and smiled…_everything was going according to plan._

"Why don't we head to the class now?" Morganna said, beckoning for them to follow her, which they did, falling in line readily enough, though Lycoris slowed down for a moment to talk to Hikari.

"Hikari-san, for the next week you and Rei-san will have to work with Shinji-kun in The World," she noted, with a twinge of sadness and of envy. She was slightly worried that he would be spending large amounts of time in the company of the First Child…but she put herself at ease. Shinji had come back for her, after all.

The Class Representative nodded as the door opened and one by one, the four filed into the classroom, until at last it was the Second's turn to strut to the front of the classroom, glancing idly about to see if there was anyone she recognized.

_Ah yes, the idiots from _Over the Rainbow, she sneered mentally as her eyes fell upon the Perverse Idiot Duo of bespectacled geek and rough-hewn jock, sitting together watching her with suspicion. _Its funny, its almost as if they recognize me from somewhere else…or they're just blown away by my beauty. Well, they are males, so the second is likely…they should be lucky that I'm even in the same room as they are._

Her gaze flickered across the Third Child, and the two met one another's gaze evenly, a nod being exchanged between them. After the fight with the Sixth Angel, and seeing that his reputation in battle was actually well deserved, she was willing to begrudge him a little bit of respect. Perhaps he wasn't quite the equal of the great Asuka Langley Soryu, but he knew what he was doing…and he had a bit of a spine, though something about his fighting style nagged at the edges of her mind. It was as if she had seen it before, somewhere…but she dismissed that with an almost imperceptible shake of the head.

Then her eyes fell upon the First Child, and eyes of crimson met those of azure…this look was, if it was possible, colder than the one she had shared with the Class Representative. For Asuka recognized in Rei Ayanami all of the frustration and rage she had known in The World…she was, after all, a bluenette, and the very image of Skadi, the Macabre Dancer that had meddled with her in The World, doll of dolls, who had dared to pity her.

There was a long, uncomfortable moment in the classroom, as tremulous emotions began to well up within Asuka's heart, mirrored only by a dispassionate stare from Rei Ayanami that…seemed almost tinged with pity. But though Asuka seethed inside, the warning from Ms. Aranami was enough to have her stay her hand for now…there would be time enough later for what she wished.

She looked away and put on a false smile with which to charm the boys of class 2-A into doing what she wished. They might be perverts, but at least they were predictable…put a pretty girl in front of them, and they would fall over themselves to do her will.

"Greetings," she said, avoiding the face of the First Child, and instead concentrating on those she knew might be more susceptible to her charms. "I am Asuka Langley Soryu."


	21. Login 07: Discordian Rhapsody

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Discordian Rhapsody**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

A/N: How quickly time passes, from fall to winter, and now to spring. I'm afraid I went into a sort of writer's hibernation these last few months, but things are getting back on track, so I'll try to make it up to you all by getting the story out more quickly. Thanks again for reading.

* * *

**Θ Hidden Forbidden Virgin Peaks, Six Ringing Peaks of Al Fadel**

The Lost Ground of Al Fadel. the highest mountain in all The World. A sacred place with forbidden knowledge, likened to the high place in Christian Lore from which the Christ was tempted with dominion over all kingdoms of the world. In the lore of the Epitaph, it was said that anyone who managed to scale its craggy peaks would the truth of all things, reaching a sort of enlightenment that would allow him or her to transcend weakness and become like a god.

Not that such a feat was easy by any means, since **Θ Hidden Forbidden Virgin Peaks **was not a well-known location, and even if it were, the presence of high-level creatures, and tricky footing combined with the fierce onslaught of the wind about the sheer cliffs conspired to knock aspiring climbers from their perches. This tended to keep most people away, despite the (hollow) promises of knowledge from on high. After all, there was no deity of The World, right? And wasn't the pursuit of power in a virtual world more beneficial than that of knowledge?

Nevertheless, when the pursuit of pure power failed to get the required results, even those who ordinarily cared only about conventional measures of success were willing to go to extremes to achieve their goals. Thus, this fine (tempestuous, stormy) morning, a pair of adventurers had decided to challenge the peak to see if there was any truth to the rumors swirling about it.

A curiously petite Tribal Grappler and a fierce Edge Punisher were they, with both having risen early in the morning to meet in the town of Mac Anu, from which they journeyed out to this forsaken land, each hoping to find the answers they sought. One hoped to know if the Epitaph had truly not come to an end, if what was happening in The World had a meaning to it; the other, to gain the knowledge she needed to defeat those who would oppose her in her quest for power.

Not surprisingly, as if the land had sensed one who was unworthy to know its secrets and was acting upon that precept, it was the latter of the two who first lost her grip.

"Verdammt!" the red-haired Edge Punisher snarled as she slipped down the cliff face, thudding against protruding rocks as plummeted towards the ground. But she wasn't quite ready to give up, and with a _whirr-hiss-clang!_, she drew one of her blades and rammed it into the solid rock, hanging there for a moment before beginning her ascent again.

"Are you alright, Eris-san?" the other called down, her voice just barely audible in the distance. "Do you want me to wait for you to catch up?"

"Just—damn—peachy!" came the bitten back reply, along with a series of animalistic grunts and some other muffled curses. "And no, keep going. No sense in waiting when sooner or later, the great Asuka Langley Soryu will surpass you!"

Try as she might, the silver haired Lycoris could not keep herself from smirking, an expression echoed by the twinkle of amusement in her golden eyes.

"That's what you said before you slipped and fell halfway down the mountain last time," the Tribal Grappler noted pointedly, deciding to wait anyway. Uncharacteristically for a member of her class, she was not wearing tight fitting clothing or wearing gauntlets, simply clad in a flowing red dress and cape set, held in place by an infinity brooch at her neck. And strangely enough, the spider lily she wore over her left ear did not blow away…

"Oh, never mind that small little accident," Eris called back up, her voice coming a bit closer, her words punctuated by little grunts of exertion. "It was just a futile effort by this mountain to keep the great Asuk-aaa—!"

As an aside, one of the most widely acclaimed features of The World: R2 had been the extremely sophisticated physics engine, capable of modeling almost any character interaction with the environment. From the effects of wind, rain, and terrain on movement, to the many ways in which the surrounds could be used as a weapon, to the tendency of handholds to dissolve as one was climbing…

So it wasn't too terribly surprising that another _thump-clang _was heard, along with a cry of "_Scheiße_!" from below. Lycoris sighed, and resumed working on the climb, which had already taken a couple of hours. After a week of working with her temporary partner, the silver haired girl had learned that the german girl was very temperamental, and despised the thought of needing someone's help.

At least the summit was now in sight, stark against the shroud of clouds that had prevented it from being seen only minutes ago. Being the more patient of the two, the petite Tribal Grappler had been content to make slow, steady progress, as opposed to Eris' frenzies of motion that only resulted in her losing her grip and backsliding. And so she continued to climb, though she paused as she saw two figures already at the pinnacle of the mount: a blue haired steam gunner clad in blues and whites, his left arm encased by a large metal cylinder, and a grey haired youth in silver and black robes, holding a set of silver fans with seven eyes embossed on each.

"Well, people always feel pain in their hearts," the Macabre Dancer was saying, gesturing as if showing the Steam Gunner an unseen vista stretched out below. "And because it is easy to feel pain, existence is painful. But your heart is more fragile than most, and heavier…like lead glass, falling, shattering upon hallowed ground."

"But there's…there's no more time. An awful sound…the World overflowing with despair…" the Steam Gunner replied, his glasses flashing orange as the sun momentarily broke through the clouds.

"A wave rushes on, until at last it breaks upon the shore," replied the other, red eyes looking curiously at the despairing man. "All we can do is not run away, Ovan."

"My last option...or perhaps all there was from the very beginning."

"You are the same as me, but this world is something we'll make for ourselves," replied the other in a gentle tone, laying one fan upon the metal cylinder that cased Ovan's arm and gesturing to the world below. "Happiness. Sadness. Love. Hate. Hope. Despair. So many emotions in a world where everyone is alone, yet can forget and thus be able to live."

"Death and Rebirth. The Epitaph. The Cursed Wave speeding to the shore. The end of evangelion, the end of good tidings," the Steam Gunner expressed, looking down with an unreadable expression on his face. "I know what I must do, Siarl, consuming happiness and sadness, consuming all emotion so that an end may come for me."

"Curious, to deny oneself the company of others, out of fear of hurting more," the Macabre Dancer said with some finality, faintly smiling as the wind ruffled his grey hair. "Freude, schöner Götterfunken, tochter aus Elysium! Wir betreten feuertrunken, himmlische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt, Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo Dein sanfter Flügel weilt."

A whoosh and a chime, and the Macabre Dancer was gone. Ovan raised an eyebrow at the familiar words, the lyrics to a song of old, and warped out as well.

Lycoris had remained still while this scene had unfolded above, and as she paused to think about what she had heard, the scrape of leather against rock made her look down. In the intervening time, the Edge Punisher Eris had finally managed to catch up to her, though the redhead was looking at her with a bit of puzzlement.

"Why were you speaking the words to Ode to Joy?" she asked curiously, eyes narrowing at the other. "You weren't just trying to mock how slow I was, were you?"

"No," Lycoris answered, still otherwise motionless. "There were two others speaking from above, a Steam Gunner and a Macabre Dancer."

"Nani!" Eris shouted, almost flipping out and losing her grip once again. She was saved from a fall only by her companion keeping hold of her wrist, and gave the silver haired girl a sheepish smile while she muttered under her breath. "It was probably those two blunettes Skari and Skadi deciding to use this place to make out like little dolls, just perfect for one another."

It was fortunate that the PK was not looking directly at the girl in red, lest she would have seen the Tribal Grappler stiffen, as if ready to throw a not-so-loving boomerang hook. The tension passed, and Lycoris forced herself to simply harrumph.

_She does not know the identity of either in real life, nor of what has come before… _

"No, it was a steam gunner named Ovan, with blue hair, white robes, and orange sunglasses," she replied after taking a moment to calm herself. "And a Macabre Dancer named Siarl, with—"

"Blue hair, you said?" Eris cut in sharply. "I've met his ilk before…and they are not worthy of my time, any of them."

Lycoris sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to change her partner's mind for now. "We're almost to the top."

The two young women looked at one another and nodded. Whatever their personal feelings about anything or anyone else, the only thing that mattered at the moment was reaching the summit of Al Fadel and finding what lay there. The next few minutes were silent, except for the scraping of rock on metal, leather, and cloth, the two shimmying and scurrying up the cliffs, until at last, both of them reached the pinnacle.

Eris felt compelled to comment before even taking a look around.

"Well, this is a disappointment," she began, "we climbed up for hours only to—"

She was unable to finish her sentence, struck dumb as the clouds parted beneath her to reveal the whole of The World, surrounded by the immensity of the Morrigu Barrow Wall. No one was visible from that great height, and even the Keel Mountains seemed only idly rolling hills below, with the wind wrapping around both adventurers, almost lifting them up higher into the air.

"I am not alone, then, for my sister and my niece still exist in The World," Eris heard her counterpart murmur. "She of twilight, she of dawn and the very air of The World, she who is the west wind, herald to the spring, the three are there in the end as in the beginning. The Wave is only a beginning, and the world yet breathes."

Eris would have replied in scathing confusion, but as she turned to do so, she stayed her words, seeing the look of complete peace on Lycoris' face, one she envied. Such peace was unknown to her in her life, with all she respected being strength. The Edge Punisher looked down at the view once more and smiled dangerously.

'_One day, all that I see will be mine. I see how small The World is now, and how soon others will fall…from this highest point, all lies open to me…'_

In the background, the blaring of an alarm shattered the stillness of the moment. The two looked at one another again and simply nodded, knowing they would see each other at school.

A flurry of golden rings, and both were gone, as a new day dawned.

* * *

**NERV Headquarters, Tokyo-3**

Asuka walked through the still barren metal corridors, with nothing to calm her overactive mind as she reflected on her first week in Tokyo-3. As she had expected, the boys of class-2A (and all of Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, for that matter) were quite predictable, falling over themselves to stuff a love letter into her locker or show off to her. While she admitted that it was amusing to watch them, she also knew that the lots of them were perverts, intent on getting into her pants. Well, all with the exception of the Idiot Duo, who seemed to avoid her as if they recognized how much pain they would be in if they crossed her.

Aside from them, the greatest mystery of the boys was the Third Child, who seemed curiously close to both the blunette Ayanami (and here she ground her teeth at the thought of having to work with a blunette) _and_ Hakubo. Funny, he hadn't seemed such a playboy on the ship, but he was, after all, a male, so he would have to be curiously watched.

Speaking of Hakubo, Asuka tried to puzzle out what Reimeiki had meant in The World. Did the silver-haired girl mean that she was alone, looking for her relatives in the real world? That would make sense, if she had been separated from them earlier in life? Or was there something else to her meaning that had greater relevance to the game?

'_Bah! I'll never get the information I need this way…nor will I find out who the ones named Skari, Skadi, and Tomoyami truly are in this world without doing some snooping. I have a feeling that Aranami-sensei doesn't like me.'_

Something bothered Asuka about Yumi Aranami, the teacher of 2-A. She seemed almost too composed, too confident, and held control over the class without even seeming to try. It was almost as if the woman was used to being obeyed, almost as much as Commander Ikari, if rumors could be believed.

Of course, if rumors were true, then the Third Child was also the stuff of legend, the best pilot of the trio, and somehow, without any bias whatsoever, the Second disagreed with that assessment. After all, hadn't _she_ trained for all of her life to be an Eva Pilot, whereas the Third had simply waltzed in and gotten lucky with his high-sync ratio? Then again…he had known what he was doing, both in the battle against the 6th Angel, and in the simulations.

But just the very thought of those simulations, so much different than what she was used to, made her wince and mutter under her breath.

'_When I find out who thought of these thrice verdammen simulations, I'm going to hurt him or her. What kind of simulation puts the most experienced pilot in last place?_

Like nothing she had experienced before, the virtual world training had taken its toll on her, since instead of normal simulations, where there would be no pain, and only a simple test of ability, this situation had involved practically live-fire combat tests. She had been shoved into a "special" plug suit that synced with the simulation room, and given weapons to use against enemies—but with no simulated Eva for protection. Rather, she was her Eva, which was ridiculous! An Eva was only a robot, after all, so what would training herself under these conditions do to improve her skill? Its not as if she needed to open her mind to use it, merely needing to use the controls and direct the unit where she wished.

But NERV was not to be denied, and so she had grudgingly participated—only to be shown how bad her skills in teamwork were. Ignoring the warnings of the Third Child that winning alone was difficult at best, Asuka had insisted on not working together. She had taken a progressive axe as her personal armament and rushed into battle as soon as the simulated Sachiel appeared.

…And then the second one had emerged from the water and jammed an energy lance into her side, causing her to double over in pain. When she was able to move again, the redhead had been coolly informed that because of her recklessness, Tokyo-3 had been destroyed and Third Impact initiated. Needless to say, her confidence was shaken, but she insisted on working alone again, this time to prove she was the best pilot.

She was ready for the second one this time, but the first surprised her by not dying from her blow, and then self-destructing, leaving her incapacitated once more.

'_So much for battle being elegant and without waste,' _the Second Child thought grimly to herself. _'This, after all, is not The World, though I could use a good Fire Storm about now to distract my foe._

In the end, the prima donna had bowed to pain, and had agreed to work with her other pilots in teams of two, which had led to a better set of results—well, except for dealing with two copies of the fifth angel, as one had been difficult enough to beat for the First and Third combined. She still couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen both of the other Children's battle styles somewhere before, especially in the way they would switch fluidly between twin blades and positron rifles.

But there would be no test today, for as she was on her way to the virtual battle room, the angel alert klaxon sounded.

'_Well well well…my debut battle. I will show them my skill and prove that I am the greatest pilot that NERV has, greater than the doll, and even the Third, though he's _almost _at my level_.

* * *

**NERV Bridge**

"We have a report from the cruiser on station," reported Shigeru over the radio, "A gigantic underwater object has been detected. Blue Pattern Confirmed."

Misato's voice came soon after.

"The intercept system of Third New Tokyo city is only at 26, having been heavily damaged in the last battle. Operable armament is for all intents and purposes, none. Thus, we must defeat the target before it lands at the waterfront. Units 1 and 2, commence attack."

"Roger," came the voices of both pilots, ready for action.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Waterfront**

"Why can't I go into battle alone again?" Asuka questioned, her tone sweet but dangerous, as if the wrong answer would have severe repercussions that might just involve Unit 02, a Prog Knife, and a certain Third Child held helpless at knifepoint.

"You do remember what happened the last time you went into combat alone in the simulator?" Shinji shot back, having grown used to the rumblings and threatened eruptions of Mt. Asuka by now.

"You know damned well that was the simulator, high and mighty Third Child!" she snapped back. "Besides, that time we knew there were going to be two targets. What about the time where one just divided into two and kicked our asses?"

"…I didn't see you responding to that either, oh great Asuka Langley Soryu," Shinji replied, a smirk of dry amusement gracing his face.

"Its not an honorable fighter's way to attack with two when the enemy is only one," the redhead muttered in turn, knowing that she was supposed to follow orders, but not really enjoying the prospect of doing so.

"Its also not honorable to want to wipe out a city of civilians, ever think of that?" Shinji said softly, to which Asuka fell silent, unable to come up with a retort. However, to prevent her from blowing up on him afterwards, he relented. "Fine…I changed my mind. Go in first, but keep an eye on it…somehow I don't think this one will be any easier than the last."

A rumble took the attention of the conversation and directed it to the waterfront, where a massive, vaguely humanoid creature was emerging from the waves. Its razor sharp claws gleamed in the light of noon, and a mask like a Yin-Yang symbol topped its skeletal frame. Israfel, Angel of Music, roared defiance at the Evangelions and advanced, ready to do battle.

"Ok, here I go!" cried Asuka, charging in with EVA Unit 02, progressive lance held high. Two titans, one angelic and one mechanical, rushed towards each other on a direct collision course, when without warning, Israfel launched an energy beam at the red biomech. Luckily, EVA-02 had just bounded into the air, its momentum carrying it up and over the beam as it somersaulted forward and cleaved the Angel in two.

'_That was easier than I expected,' she thought to herself, 'but I suppose even the Angels can't resist my strength. Score one for the great Asuka Lang_—"

"Asuka, duck!" Shinji shouted suddenly, the ground coming alive with the _thud-thud-thud_ of kiloton footfalls pounding towards her location.

"Eh?" she asked, turning around just in time to see what seemed like a second Angel hurtling down at her from the sky, apparently mirroring what she had done to the first Angel—which was now up and ready as well. "Ach, Mein Gott en Himmel!"

She barely managed to jam her progressive lance into its torso and shove it back, though it quickly retaliated with an energy blast that sent Unit 02 reeling—accidentally dropping her lance on her power cord. On her way to impact, the Second Child saw the very disheartening sight of Unit 01 being pummeled as well, having lost its own power connection.

_One minute left…we doomed._

"Oh hell, that's unfair!" came Misato's voice over the radio, soon to be followed by her fellow pilot's.

"Asuka, one minute left," crackled Shinji's voice over the combat channel. "Remember those Sachiel clones we had to deal with in training? Prog knives only, in sync, go!"

Asuka was about to protest, when she noted that the Third (as brash as he could be at times) was right. And if she could win here, even with _his_ help, she'd still have an unblemished record in combat (as long as one didn't count the simulators).

_Prog knives? No bigger weapons at my disposal? _

"Sure, but you're taking me shopping for ruining my first battle. And if I kill mine first, you owe me a steak dinner. Baka."

Unit 01 froze for just a moment as Shinji processed the words the Second Child has just said. "What?" was his oh-so-eloquent reply (obviously, the lessons on Shakespeare and the Epitaph of Twilight were rubbing off).

The crimson Unit 02 roared to life once more, using its pack of flechettes to keep the two Angels at bay temporarily. "Well, what are you waiting for, _Third Child?_ Lets beat this thing so you can buy me dinner."

Shinji was about to protest, but with the battery life down to 50 seconds, there really wasn't any time for that.

And then the melee began, with each combatants seeking out an opposite number and charging forward in berserk rage. First came the cross flares, simultaneously homing towards the EVAs, with razor claws not too far behind.

"_**Expanding AT field!"**_ the pilots cried, as the blast of energy hurtled towards them, connecting with a massive explosion. Twin pillars of water and mud sloshed into the air, shooting high into the sky and then fading.

In this situation, Shinji wished he had a positron rifle, as he had often practiced with, but such was not the case today. Today, his armament had consisted only of lance and knife, and while in his mind he bemoaned the ineffectiveness of such weapons (not that "Guns…lots of guns" would have been more effective), he would have to make do. After all, in The World, was he not an Adept Rogue, capable of using any weapon?

_40 seconds remaining._

They looked to one another and then sprang into the air, simultaneously spinning in the air and landing a hit on the twin Angels' masks. Close combat range now, and Asuka took the opportunity to ram her knife into the core of the monstrosity, putting all her might behind it. Waves of light rippled at the points where AT fields intersected, but Israfel had a rather weak field, and so it was broken through.

_30 seconds remaining. _

"One down, Third Child," Asuka haughtily proclaimed, pulling her weapon from the core as her enemy went still. But the moment the weapon was free, the Angel of Music blurred into motion again, slashing at her unprotected gut with the razor sharp spikes on its hands. "Ah Gott…"

It smashed her unit to the ground, and leapt high into the air to perform a finishing blow. Even without the claws, the Angel's mass was a deadly weapon with the help of gravity. And if she didn't do anything, the spikes would surely penetrate her entry plug, causing a painful—if swift—death.

Shinji, on the other hand, had managed to block his Angel's claws with his prog knife, using the free hand of his Eva to punch the double with an armored fist. It roared in pain and staggered back, before Unit 01 followed up with a sweeping blow to the legs.

_20 seconds._

Now it was the Third's turn to leap up and perform a finishing move, throwing his prog knife and firmly embedding it into the Angel's mask. Asuka, seeing this, twisted upright and out of the way as the ungainly Angel slammed into the ground. Angry at the way the _thing_ had treated her in her first battle, she grabbed it by a leg and flipped it over, straddling the enemy and smashing the mask open with an armored elbow.

10…9…8…7…6

Following up on his previous move, Shinji bullrushed the Angel, knocking it down, and pulling out the prog knife. Seeing Asuka ready to strike, he raised his weapon for a coup de grace as well, as both pilots slammed their knives home into the Angel's cores.

5…4…3…2…

"Targets have gone silent," reported the voice of one of the techs over the radio, as the two pilots breathed a sigh of relief, opening up a video link to discuss their most recent battle.

"Since I killed mine first," 'reasoned' Asuka in arch tones, "you owe me dinner."

"We killed ours at the same time," Shinji replied, rolling his eyes. "Besides, you nearly cost us the battle by not keeping watch on the Angel."

"ANTA BAKA! Who do you think you are?"

"The one who's done this before…rookie."

"Why you—!"

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on one's point of view), the radio chose that moment to fail as the Evangelions switched to life support mode, leaving the question of who owed who what to be decided.

* * *

**NERV Bridge **

"These kids are really embarrassing us," muttered Sub-commander Fuyuzuki.

"With all due respect, at least they won, Sub-Commander," responded Misato. "Imagine what would have happened if they'd lost that battle. We might have had to call in the UN."

"…Point."


	22. Login 08: Appearing in Illusion

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: ****Appearing from Illusion**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Apartment 402, Tokyo-3**

The distant strains of white and azure noise filled the room, working in tandem with the soft whirr of the computer's cooling fan to serve as an absolute barrier, an aura of sound through which nothing distressful (such as the noises of construction or demolition) might pass. But no one sat at the computer desk, or stood in the bedroom, and with the apartment meticulously clean, one might almost say that it was deserted—except that there would have to be someone there to explain the tendrils of steam creeping out from one of the many doorways.

It twirled and spun, curling up the wall like a vine—and then withdrew, as the sound of the shower abruptly cut off, letting the sounds of the outside through once more, punctuated by soft footfalls on the creaky wooden floor, and the _drip-drip-drip_ of water. A few moments later, Rei Ayanami emerged, still dripping wet, clad in nothing but a towel and a thoughtful expression.

'_Curious,' _she thought to herself, her brow furrowed in concentration as she brought one hand to her lips, tracing the curves of a faint smile, while the other rested on one of her shapely breasts. _'What is the significance of human touch? Of a smile? How does that movement echo the warmth I felt when Ikari fell on top of me those days ago, a warmth that was almost…pleasant.'_

Another warmth blossomed when she thought of Hakubo-san and Horaki-inchou, both of whom had sat beside her at lunch one day and began a conversation—with the silver-haired girl in particular taking pains to reach out to her. She still didn't quite understand why that was, or why she had not simply ignored them as she had others in the past. Perhaps it was due to the way her…friend…had spoken about The World as a bond to all people, much as the Evangelions were to her. Or perhaps it was because The World itself had opened her up to interactions with others, forcing her to choose her own path in a place without direction.

She remembered well the first day she had logged in to choose a character class and avatar, largely because the default settings had so displeased her. The basic avatar had appeared as a Lord Partizan, dressed in formal robes of red, a color that the blunette absolutely despised. Given a choice of what she wanted, Rei instead chose an appearance that was very much like how she saw herself: balanced and formal, observing and doing as duty required.

As for why the name Skadi, while she did not react to the local gossip bandied about by the students at her school, on one level, she found that she didn't mind the label of ice queen. Cold, dispassionate, observing the world from above…it was what she had done in both worlds, and so she chose to be called by the name of a winter deity in The World.

Padding over to the computer desk where her terminal rested, Ayanami reflected on recent events in that virtual space, including the truce with the Flick Reaper Tomoyami, the encounter with the enigmatic Harvest Cleric Rumor…and the fight against the Edge Punisher Eris.

At that particular memory, the bluenette narrowed her eyes, another feeling welling up inside of her. This was warmth as well, but not the pleasant one associated with Ikari…this warmth was reminiscent of what she felt when she saw red. Pulse rushing, head reeling, eyes narrowing…it could only be one thing: loathing.

But that was enough thought for now. The bluenette decided that the best way to investigate for now would be to re-enter The World, so without taking the time to get dressed (for indeed, she was in her apartment, and for what reason would she need clothing there?), Rei Ayanami sat down in her merely functional chair and slid her FMD over her head, entering The World once again.

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

Golden rings of light shimmered into existence near the Chaos Gate, fading to reveal a pale figure clad in a midnight blue yukata, crimson eyes glinting in the light of dusk from beneath a mop of azure hair. Opening her eyes, she was hit almost immediately with a wave of disorientation: something was wrong. She wasn't quite sure what it was, or where it was, but regardless, there was something out of place.

Skadi looked around uneasily, her war fans gripped tightly in her hands as if expecting something to emerge from the shadows, but moments passed and nothing happened. Still perturbed by the earlier sensation (altogether strange for her), the Macabre Dancer relaxed her grip on her weapons and strode out into sunlight, shaking her head.

'I am being irrational,' she told herself. 'There is no possible danger in a Root Town such as Mac Anu, for here weapons do not function and creatures do not appear.'

Indeed, a Root Town was a sanctuary for those within The World, a place to rest between adventures and meet up with friends, or trade harsh words with enemies, knowing that they could not harm one. But it was also a bustling hub, a market for goods and information, and on the whole, an excellent place to observe humans in their natural state.

So the azure-haired Skadi proceeded into the heart of town, towards a spot that had proven statistically valuable as a gathering place since the days of R1: the bridge crossing the river Anu. The river was larger now, more turbulent by the influence of the steam engines that littered the Eternal City, but it was still a place of isolation and immersion both.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop_ her steps went as she walked with purpose through the town, players milling in one direction or another, each concerned only about the self. Most kept their berth from her though, as if they could sense that she was one of the more powerful characters on Delta Server—or perhaps they simply did not like the way her eyes seemed to pierce the façade of their avatars into their very souls.

She was almost to the bridge when she froze, her gaze transfixed by another set of crimson eyes. At the far end of the embankment was another Macabre Dancer, this one with silver hair and black robes, his silver fans tipped with seven eyes apiece.

The other continued to approach, making as if to pass her without a word, but at the last second her stopped just beside her, leaning down to her ear.

"You are the Tear of Winter, Skadi. You are the same as me," he whispered sensually, close enough that his breath would have caressed her ear, were she capable of feeling such things in The World. In the moment of stillness caused by his actions, the silver-haired boy brought a hand up as if to stroke Skadi's alabaster smooth cheeks, only for his hand to be seized by another, as crimson eyes glared daggers into his flesh.

_Crack! _With that sound, the silver-haired caster was left with a red imprint on his cheek, wincing as if the slap had actually stung him.

"Such strength and curiosity," he remarked, as if noting the way the summer breeze rustled the leaves of a tree. "You dislike people, yet you are bonded to them by free will. Curious."

He moved to go, brushing past her and moving towards the Chaos Gate, as Skadi watched him intently, rewarded by a glimpse of what she thought to be black spots dancing about his avatar. But it was only momentary, as the other turned and looked at her again, smiling, and the spots faded.

"No. We're not the same," the one of Winter murmured under her breath. "We might be very similar...but we're not the same."

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga, Sea of Data**

Of all the Root Towns and Servers in The World, there was only one that was truly mobile—and surprisingly agile, considering that it rode on the back of a giant tortoise, one that was by the standards of the Net, very very old. The great reptile that carried the city through the sea of data with beats of its massive flippers preceded the time of Aura, and was a being of the Epitaph itself, a tortoise that dwelled in the True Underworld and possessed ancient knowledge.

It was a mystical place of sorts, existing at the crossroads of The World, able to be reached from anywhere by those who knew how and functioning as an area from which one could access any place in The World, but was outside the system as well. Thus, it was a city where failed or unwanted data such as Vagrant AIs, and hackers would gather—a place that the Queen of the Dark had called both Paradise and home.

Two figures silhouetted against the sea of twilight parleyed at the gate, voices low and hushed and harsh as they discussed urgent matters in The World. One was tall and statuesque, every inch a mighty sorcerer-queen comfortable in the power she wielded—and yet, uneasy. As the great tortoise moved through the ocean of data, the angle of the light shifted, and she was revealed to be the Harvest Cleric Tsukinoki, a severe blond outfitted in a flowing white dress with purple triangular designs and what resembled a matching queen's helm, with a visor that covered her eyes.

The other was another Cleric, powerful in his own right but deferential to the one named Tsukinoki. Rather small in frame, his honest face often bore a friendly smile, tousled gray hair, big blue eyes, and a small teardrop shaped tattoo on his left cheek. But today, the smile seemed forced, with fatigue apparent in both eyes and frame. Named for the one thing said to travel faster than the speed of light, he was Rumor, the Vagrant AI who could be found almost anywhere in The World.

"Rumor has it that the one named Ovan was spotted at **Θ Hidden Forbidden Virgin Peaks****,** the Six Ringing Peaks of Al Fadel," spoke he, clenching his staff like a frozen whirlpool tightly in one hand, as he looked into the glowing green-blue diamond with a small pulsating sphere he held in the other.

"So, Tri-Edge and The Rebirth has appeared once more in The World…" murmured the sorcerer-queen, face taking on a sternness that had not been seen since the Twilight Incident. "And at Al Fadel…did not the Child of Twilight visit that recently with the one who calls herself Eris?"

"Rumor says that that is so, my Queen," the diminutive Harvest acceded, "but he left before the Child of Twilight reached the peak, in the company of a Macabre Dancer named Siarl."

"Siarl…meaning simply 'free man'," mused Tsukinoki, who did not know quite what to make of it. She had almost expected the one accompanying Ovan to be Morganna, erstwhile foe and now uneasy ally-of-sorts, though she knew that Morganna would be more discreet about any such meetings. _'A once goddess would not be so careless, as she is by now quite aware of her limitations...and she knows what AIDA could do to her.' _"Did he have any distinguishing marks or features?"

"Rumor would relate simply Seven Eyes upon his war fans, with an inverted triangle bisected on his robes," the AI responded to his Queen. "Rumors of AIDA activity within The World begin to escalate once more…and there is another Lost One."

"The player named Kazumi, yes," acknowledged the Queen of the Dark. "But perhaps that is for the best, for he would have to be dealt with in time sooner or later. He, of CyberConnect Corporation's Security Administration, was the keeper of the errant key, the false child of Morganna."

"The creation of the one who would have become a false God of The World?"

"Yes. And the keeper of the false Tarvos now—you have that information, correct?"

Silence for a long moment, before the diminutive Harvest Cleric spoke at last.

"Rumor has it that the false Key returns to the Wave, she who even now is coming…"

The information gatherer looked at Tsukinoki, who merely nodded as if she had expected that piece of information. A strange chime sounded at the gates, and with ripples of golden light, a feared sorceress clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses and dark violet eyes, arrived upon the scene.

She was a Shadow Warlock, whose resemblance to Aura and infinity brooch clinched her identity as the mirror to the hacker Helba: Morganna, the Old God of The World (and consequently, a being that Rumor still had problems trusting).

"Morganna, I've been expecting you," intoned the Mistress of Net Slum Tartarga. "We need to talk."

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

Still troubled over her encounter with the other Macabre Dancer, Skadi finally set foot upon the bridge that spanned the great river of the Eternal City. It was, on the whole, a somewhat underwhelming experience, as she felt none of the camaraderie that seemed to touch all those around her, while leaving her apart. At the same time, to observe others was a state that she knew well, and so she leaned over the railing and simply watched the crowds swirling about the city, streaming this way and that in search of an hour's diversion.

'_How does each individual find a purpose in this world when each is alone, seeking to be alone, and to forget one's loneliness? One escapes the pain of reality simply to find another chaotic place, where there is no heaven, where even in lore, the man has destroyed the gods and now seeks to shape one in his own image.'_

It was true that many human interactions still puzzled her, and though she felt emotion as every other child of Lilith, she did not understand them as easily as other humans did. In that sense, she was very much the 'zero' that her name implied, existing more as a spirit on a different order of existence. Still, she wished to understand, so she observed, learning more and more that the best way to learn was to participate.

Uncharacteristically to those she knew in the real world, Skadi sighed and began to write a flash mail for the first time, to the one person she knew well in The World, and whose status appeared as "available": Tomoyami.

_**:**__From: Skadi  
To: Tomoyami  
Subject: Quest_

_I find that I am…discontent with simply observing what goes on in the Root Town. Is there a place where we may meet to discuss what has transpired?__**:**_

She sent her message, and was rather surprised when a reply arrived but a minute later.

_**:**__From: Tomoyami  
To: Skadi  
Subject: re: Quest_

_Perhaps __**Σ Hidden Forbidden Exhibition**__, the Lost Ground storing all the knowledge in The World, but not at the moment. I am…adventuring with a Tribal Grappler and Shadow Warlock who have misbehaved, in preparation for the tournaments to come in Lumina Cloth. Apologies.__**:**_

Skadi's lips curled into a slight frown, and she turned her attention from the crowds to the waters below, and to the shifting reflection of herself that was displayed there, distorted by current and ripple, by wave and wind. Staring at the image, idle thoughts came into her mind, strung together one by one into a poem of sorts.

'_Time. Ever shifting is time, changing all around it.'  
'An unseen cold hand, drawing fates on towards eternity'  
'Sky…blue sky, eyes look away into the hazy distance, at a distant far off dream'  
'Moon…there is only one.'  
'Water…frozen tears, change…a red spider lily…Ikari-kun?'  
'Flower…Danse Macabre…so many alike, to nothing turned.'  
'Sky…red sky in view. Red. I hate Red.'  
'Water…ever flowing, A cage of glass, cold and icy night.'  
'Feeling…why? What is it to be?'  
'Blood…red blood…life…no blood in The World.'  
'The red earth born of the Twilight'  
'From man and woman, the cradle of dreams'  
'Town…a human creation. Avatar…human as well'  
'What is human? Who is God? Another creation?'  
'A vessel for the life and soul, a guide to the truth.'  
'Chaos Gate…the portal to worlds'  
'Entry Plug, the throne of souls'  
'Who is this? This is Skadi. No, this is Rei. No, this is me.'  
'"You are the same as me." No.'  
'Who am I? What am I? Why am I?'  
'I am myself and not myself. The Mirage of Deceit, no. No Terror of Death.'  
'Rebirth. This, that which is, is myself. That which is formed is me.'  
'The me that can be seen, and the me that sees itself'  
'A strange feeling. Uncertainty…a sea of liminality, ego border melting'_  
_'Clear blue winds…the hazy distance…moonlight.'  
'I cannot see myself clearly, the shape of thoughts fading.'  
'Overflowing burning pathos…the presence of someone who is not me.'  
'Who is there, beyond the looking glass?'  
'Who are you?'_

Minutes had passed while the Macabre Dancer pondered these things, her form fading to grey as the last few thoughts strayed into her head. She simply stood there, tuning out the rest of the world, and would have remained, had a familiar voice not sounded nearby.

Skadi looked up sharply in the direction of the sound, and found herself gazing into another set of crimson eyes. The bearer of these eyes, though, was no Macabre Dancer, but a thoroughly unnerved Adept Rogue, whose frame and face resembled hers to the extreme, save for longer hair and the choice of charcoal-gray robes over dark chain mail instead of a yukata as attire.

The two stood very close now, nose to nose, with the other seeming quite uncomfortable with the intense scrutiny, fidgeting and trying to look away, but failing. They simply gazed into each other's eyes as if caught in a trance, each an imperfect mirror of the other. If either had been so inclined, it would have been a simple matter for him or her to lean in and kiss the lips of the other so close—but as one was quite shaken to encounter another he knew, and the other was not familiar with what the warmth inside her meant, none of that happened.

A soft cough issued from someone beside them, and both blunettes finally broke eye contact, with the Adept Rogue Skari jumping back and emitting a startled _'eep!'_ which made his companion chuckle. The Macabre Dancer Skadi turned her head to see who was accompanying the rogue, only to raise an eyebrow in an expression of restrained surprise. For the one she saw mirrored her friend Reimeiki Hakubo exactly in form and feature, down to the silver hair with red streaks, golden eyes, and spider lily behind one ear…even if she did not approve of the choice of attire.

"Hakubo-san?" she questioned, only to be cut off by a wave of her friend's hand.

"In this place, Skadi, call me Lycoris," the girl in red returned with a smile. "Rumor had it that you would be here by the waters."

"You are going on a quest," Skadi said manner-of-factly. "May I…join you?"

The formerly tongue-tied Rogue finally found his voice for long enough to speak.

"Yes, of course, Aya—Skadi."

"We go to **Θ**** Dancing Returning Exile **for Skari's Job Extend Quest. After all, he cannot forever be a Twin Blade," Lycoris quipped, poking her dear one in the ribs. "Come, let us go…the event awaits."

The Macabre Dancer remained motionless for a minute and then nodded slightly, turning and falling into step with the two.

"…Hai."

'_Perhaps on the field, Ikari can teach me more of what this warmth inside me means…and Hakubo, who like me is a mirror in this World.'_

* * *

**Δ Dreaming Eternal Moonlight**

In this particular field of night, an annoyed Edge Punisher waited, pacing back and forth in anticipation of her quarry's arrival. Her name, as many have learned all too late, was Eris, the Bringer of Strife, and she was quickly becoming known as a Chaotic PK, her red ponytail and sensuously curved figure clad in black leather bringing both temptation and terror for those new to the game—especially those who had the misfortune to be blunettes.

Now, while it was far from unusual for Eris to become annoyed (as she so often did), or to lie in wait for unwary prey, this time she had been summoned to the field, and by a flash mail with a sender unknown to her. Whoever it was had referred to himself as the "Siarl, First Conqueror of Al Fadel", the Lost Ground that was rumored to grant incredible power to those who discovered it and triumphed over its dangers, and had dropped hints about sharing it with her should she prove herself worthy.

'_Pah! Who could be more worthy than I to possess such great power?' _the Edge Punisher sneered. _'And if anything…he's the one who's late.'_

For some time she had waited, Broad Guiren clutched in hand as she walked about, avoiding battle in case the one who had called her was planning on springing an ambush. And the field had complied, springing neither monster nor unlucky animal upon her, perfectly quiet save for the low humming of the wind. In fact, it was almost too quiet, and since Eris had not read one particular part of the manual that dealt with what happened when one chose to be idle in certain fields, she was caught off guard by what happened next.

"**DOPPELGANGER" **flashed on the screen, and as the player behind Eris barely kept from falling out of her seat, she noticed too late the darkness-wreathed copy of her PC charging at her, its Broadsword "Menacing Clash" already extended and slashing. A wave of brute force slammed Eris backwards as her HP dropped precipitously.

'_How did he ambush me so quickly? Wait, that's not a player. What in the verdammen hells is this abomination? Doppelganger…copy.'_

"Sheiße!" she shrieked out, attempting to bring her sword between herself and opponent. But it was too late, as the foe's blade made contact yet again, its glowing red eyes taunting her as it quickly pulled its sword back and unleashed a powerful impact attack on the ground, the resultant shockwave flinging her into the air.

'_A doppelganger, a copy…a lifeless doll that looks like me. Well, no doll will get the better of ERIS, BRINGER OF STRIFE!''_

"Copybot BITCH!" the Edge Punisher snarled, as she struggled to regain her bearings, barely managing to land on her feet. She slashed, trying to block the inhumanly swift strikes of her enemy, which merely swung its mighty blade forward with inhuman speed. "Take this, you worthless doll…**Armor Break!" **

Unleashing the most powerful skill available to her as an Edge Punisher, Eris barely managed to block her foe's attack, their weapons issuing sparks at the point of contact. Already she was breathing hard, her teeth on edge, as she had never fought against an opponent with all of her skills and greater speed and power.

Inside, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that if she didn't counter attack right here and now to regain the momentum for herself, she would lose to a copy, a doll. And that was unacceptable.

Revving up the chainsaw spikes on the sword, Eris threw her momentum forward into a slide, getting between her opponent's lets and grinning wickedly. As powerful as the Doppelganger was, it was not prepared to face unconventional maneuvers such as that, and the PK used that moment of hesitation to full effect.

"Let's see how you like this between your legs, bitch! **Shell Breaker!**" she shouted, swinging the chainsaw blade up at the crotch of the copy, which took a hit or two before diving forward into a roll and spinning to face her. It hadn't been as much damage as she'd hoped to deal, but it was a start

From below she had struck, and now from above. Eris sprang into the air, her broadsword howling with what seemed like bloodlust but were really just the chainsaw teeth whirring as it scythed through the air. Her anger, her hatred, her fear…she took those emotions and placed them all into one crushing strike.

"**Bone Crusher!"**

But this time the Doppelganger was ready, countering with an Aerial attack of its own: **"Twin Moons."** It didn't block the Edge Punisher's attack, but then, it wasn't intended to, merely misdirecting it slightly to throw the redhead off balance. It wasn't long by any means, but it was long enough so that the Doppelganger was able to deliver a flurry of kicks to her gut.

Eris landed heavily, muttering "**Repth**" under her breath, a golden aura surrounding her for a moment and healing some of the damage she had taken. It was clear that the foreign being had her overmatched physically, though she was not about to admit it, so perhaps the key to victory lay in the spells she had been able to acquire.

'_After all…if it's an Edge Punisher Doppelganger, it shouldn't have any skills besides those of the class.'_

"**Rue Kruz!" **she spat with renewed vigor, shards of ice materializing in the sky and converging upon the foe in an elemental explosion, stunning it momentarily. Taking the opportunity that that afforded, Eris came in close and called out "**Armor Break"** once more, trying to wear away at the shadow's armor and HP so that she could use her more powerful normal skills.

It stuck high, but Eris stuck low, dropping into a crouch and sweeping the Doppelganger's legs from under it. By now the chainsaw teeth were roaring in fury and readiness once more, and she brought the weapon down upon her fallen adversary, a bestial howl escaping her lips.

Somehow, it managed to counter, its face twisting into a parody of a grin as its sword forced Eris' back enough for it to kick her in the gut. And now the deadly shadow had played enough, and while the Edge Punisher was disoriented, lifted its sword for a coup de grace and slashed—

—only to miss by a hair, as Eris backflipped out of range, leaving as her parting gift a well placed '**Gan Bolg', **causing needles of earth to shoot upwards and pierce her opponent's heavy armor.

'_I just have to keep whittling away…and hope that doll isn't healing itself…wait…WHAT?'_

Understandably, the Edge Punisher was slightly dismayed to find that the shadow-shrouded version of herself was indeed regenerating over time, meaning that she had to end this quickly. Too much longer and her offensive capability would be worn down, leaving herself open to be struck down with ease.

"**Rue Kruz," **she snarled again, using a spell she hated but needed nonetheless, rushing like the wind towards the enemy's position, intending to end things _now._ The orbs of water struck at the same time as her sword, the art **"Shell Breaker" **finally cutting through the last of her opponent's protective layers.

As if knowing it had one great effort remaining, the Doppelganger used its Menacing Clash broadsword in for a last attempt at decapitation, only for Eris to block it while falling back slightly. She lost her grip and the weapon sliced down into her shoulder, sending her HP down to critical condition, as she called out **"Zan Rom" **in desperation, a tornado of wind element touching down and ripping the Doppelganger apart at last, leaving behind the item "Own King."

Victory hers at last, the Edge Punisher collapsed upon a nearby rock, the Broad Guiren falling boneless from her still shaking hands as she gasped for breath.

'_I cannot believe that I was almost beaten by a doll. What ein himmel was that creature, that perverse shadow copy? How was I ambushed when there was nothing in the field? And a better question…where is the one who called me here?'_

As if in answer to her last question, a quiet footstep crunched down upon the sand, with someone humming Ode to Joy softly at her hear. Eris began to reach for her sword, but found that her weapon was kicked, skidding some meters away. As for whirling about, that would have been quite a bad idea, due to the two razor-tipped war fans at her throat and her gut.

"You defeated a doppelganger, most impressive," a silky voice whispered into her ear. "I have always been fascinated by how Lilim manage to prevail against terribly unfair odds, using their emotions, using their pain to grant them such power. To forget their weaknesses and become strong, to erase the past. But a person cannot erase sadness forever…can they, Eris, Bringer of Strife?"

The Edge Punisher's unknown assailant used his grip upon her to spin her out to arm's length and look fully upon her ripe form. Eris, with weapon at throat, was powerless to do anything but watch and study the one who had called her to the field.

It was, after all, the Macabre Dancer Siarl, with silver hair and crimson eyes looking far too much like Skadi for her comfort. But this one seemed far more dangerous and even unstable, an ambusher greater than any she had met before. And were those black spots flickering around him? No, it couldn't be, for in the next moment they were gone.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded in a low whisper, glaring at him as if to slay him with her gaze alone. "You called me here, baka."

"Why, to test you and see whether you are worthy of the power of Al Fadel," he smirked, his tone somewhere between condescension and empathetic. "I hold a fraction of its power, for I was not the one who desired it most…that would be you. You are powerful, Eris…but you fear others, do you not? You avoid letting them get close to you, for fear that they will betray you, hurt you…abandon you. And so you raise a wall around your heart that none might pass."

There was silence for a moment, with the exception only of crickets chirping in the field. Then Eris spoke, her voice a low hiss of anger.

"I fear nothing, weakling, and what do you know of me?" she replied, a fire in her eyes. "As for your vaunted power, it doesn't take much to subdue an opponent who has already fought a harsh battle, and has no weapon. It is not the way of an honorable fighter."

The Macabre Dancer only laughed, a gentle sound that did not belong on that field.

"Strange that you would use the words honorable fighter, you who have used ruse, deception, and ambush many a time, striking at those you called friend or ally," he said, voice dripping with arsenic-laced honey. The silver-haired caster looked upon Eris intently as he said this, observing with satisfaction a flinch. "But you are right, it does not take much power to do that."

He released her, pushing her back onto a rock, while he retrieved two items from within his robes, setting those upon another, close by. They were an orb that seemed to pulse with living shadow, and a sword that some would recognize as "Heine's Shadow", which although a level 51 weapon was the equal of those 50 levels above.

"I did not take the power into myself, as I was already given more than enough for myself, and I am not the only conqueror of Al Fadel," he voiced, war fans now spread and ready for battle. "You desire power far more than I who desire only knowledge. Strike me once, and I will grant you the power you seek. As a show of good faith…here is the weapon Heine's Shadow…take it and use it against me. But first…allow me to heal you."

With a quick mutter or two, Eris' HP was restored to full, though she was none too happy about it. She did not enjoy being in the mercy of anyone, but at least now she was to return to battle, something she understood well.

'_I will defeat you, you cocky bastard…you perverted' flower' and pansy. I will show you what strength truly is.'_

Now, a duel to the first blood was truly different from anything that Eris had ever participated in before, as she usually fought to kill, accepting no yields, only the death of her opponent. Still, though this battle was more formal, the mechanics of battling remained the same, and as long as her sword could strike his frame, she would gain the so-called power he offered.

This was not to be a battle of reckless charges and uncertainties, as the combatants knew well. In such close quarters, such would be suicidal.

The Edge Punisher lunged forward with her new, more powerful weapon, only for the Macabre Dancer to parry and step aside, face a mask of amusement. Thrust, parry. Thrust, parry. Strike low, block low. It didn't help that he had two fans, and she only had one sword, so that no matter how she struck, there would be a weapon capable of blocking her.

She backed away, her opponent followed, keeping the range close so that she could not use her broadsword most effectively. To counter, she kicked the sand of the field into his face and slashed forward in a powerful combo—that Siarl flipped out of the way of. But she had been anticipating something of the sort, and merely lunged, scratching his character's arm.

It was a pale shadow of a proper wound, but it was an injury nonetheless. Siarl dropped his guard and looked at the nick that the Edge Punisher had given him, raising an eyebrow in surprise. He should have known better, as tempted by success, Eris thought that perhaps she could land at least another blow to show that she was a force to be reckoned with.

She charged up her blade and was about to slam it down onto the ground to release a massive shockwave when—

"**Algol Laser! Kobold Bullet!"**

Darkness blossomed about the Macabre Dancer's form again, a large beam of energy blasting forth from the dark aura into Eris' frame, throwing _her_ into the air, where she was slammed into the ground by several pulsing balls of energy.

Her HP was lowered to 1, and her sword went skidding away from her.

Siarl did not finish her though, merely shaking his head and giving her an item. Then he turned to go, humming "Ode to Joy" and tossing a few words behind him as he disappeared in a flurry of golden light.

"That was but a taste of the power contained in the Orb, one that you shall master in time, Eris. We will meet again."

Surprised that he had kept his word, the Edge Punisher rose and dusted herself off again, picking up her new weapons and the Orb that her opponent had left behind, ostensibly as her reward for managing to strike him, passing his test.

'_Such power...i__f I can gain such power, then at last, I will be the undisputed mightiest one in The World,' _she thought, thinking upon the strange item she had received as she logged out, a flurry of golden rings marking her departure from the field.

'**_Eris obtained AIDA Seed.'_**


	23. Login 09: Agent of Id

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: ****Agent of Id**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Θ**** Dancing Returning Exile, The Inverted Castle**

The warbling of a musical chime and a shimmer of golden light rent the previous silence of the field, one that had lain untouched for over seven years. Many years ago, it had served as a Legendary Land with a different set of area words, though the intervening reset and corruption of The World's data had caused a reshuffling of what remained from the past. This particular place had come through nearly untouched, save for what had transpired in the days before the Twilight Incident.

As the light faded, three figures emerged onto the field: Skari, Skadi, and Lycoris, self-identified Adept Rogue, Macabre Dancer, and Tribal Grappler. Granted, the last one may have been slightly misleading, but for the purposes of interacting with those in The World: R2, it was quite good enough. Besides, taking on the title of "forerunner to the Goddess" would have attracted far too much attention from undesired parties, even if the Cobalt Knights did not exist in this version of The World.

'_And Rumor does seem to want me to take up Aura's mantle…though I cannot become Aura. Her destiny as goddess is not mine…I am the Twilight, she is the Dawn.'_

Lycoris' thoughts trailed off as she opened her eyes, a faint echo of memory coming to her as she casting her gaze about the field. Her silver hair and flowing red dress ruffled in the wind, as a straying beam of light illuminated her from above, with the field seeming to rumble in answer to her presence, as one of the old World to another.

Skari, who happened to choose that moment to look around, found himself suppressing both a sharp intake of breath, and the tired but familiar mantra of _'mustn't run away'_. For unlike an ordinary field where one's feet would be planted firmly on the ground, this place was a floating castle suspended in the sky, its structure composed of countless stone spires and interweaving bridges that seemed as if they might collapse at any moment. And to make things even more disorienting, it was upside down, giving the impression that its old keywords might have conveyed: Bitter Fantasy Mirror World.

Skadi merely raised an eyebrow at the unconventional setting of the field, as after her time in The World, unfamiliar environments were what she expected, particularly from a place home to a limited-time quest. What the blue-haired Macabre Dancer found disturbing instead was the fact that no one else was there. If this was in fact supposed to be where Adept Rogues might acquire their next forms, it was very sparsely populated.

"Curious," flatly stated the Macabre Dancer. "What is the objective here?"

She turned around to see Lycoris bathed in the column of light, golden eyes aglow with hidden knowledge and veiled memories. The Tribal Grappler was seemingly in a trance, but still turned the intensity of her gaze onto the one who had asked, replying cryptically as if reading or recalling a fragment of the past.

"The path to the truth has been opened, the path to…evolution and a change in form, to myriad possibilities in twilight and dawn. Seek the center, where each shall be tested, and speak with one whose flesh is no more."

A musical note sounded of some sort, and with a ripple in view, the light passed from the girl in red as everything returned to normal. Well, somewhat normal, Lycoris wasn't prone to collapsing under most circumstances, unless of course "Ecchi-kun" happened to run into her. Seeing as this was not one of said cases, Skari ran to her side, catching the silver-haired girl in his arms as she struggled to stand.

"Reimeiki!" he cried, voice tinged with concern. "Reimeiki, are you alright?"

"I'm…fine," Lycoris managed to reply. "Just…had a bad connection for a moment. I think the new interface I'm using isn't quite stable yet."

A lie, yes, but understandable, if one considered that she didn't want to reveal exactly who she had been once. Anything of that nature could all too easily lead into someone deciding to look into the Twilight Incident and what had come before, or how much of her current existence was a fabrication supported by the art of hacking.

Skadi detected the moment of hesitation, but said nothing, as she didn't know what it meant. While she had learned some of her friend's oddities and eccentricities in the other world, the Macabre Dancer also knew better than to push too far. After all, the bluenette had witnessed an incredible explosion of emotion from the silver-haired girl when someone had brusquely dismissed the topic of artificial beings in class. It did make her wonder about who Lycoris was, beyond what she chose to reveal to the world at large, as Skadi herself has elements of herself she did not reveal.

'_What is one created to be?'_ was a question that had often plagued her mind as she looked out the window, or as she played The World. In her wanderings, she had encountered some interesting individuals, some of who sought to relieve their frustrations in the real world through PKing, some of which sought to help others, and others whose motives were more enigmatic. In the last category were Skari, Lycoris, Rumor, and Ovan, among others, the last two of which she had not seen for a time. Skadi wondered about all of those in the last category, having spoken with her ally Tomoyami (the eternal shadow, though she was _the light_ in real life) about Rumor on several occasions.

That particular character, a diminutive Harvest Cleric both mischievous and powerful, apparently deferred to one known as the "Queen of the Dark," Helba. Rumor had also mentioned a group known as the dothackers, and that she should seek to be one to help save this world from shadows born of error. She had investigated rumors of these things, and found, on several old message boards, references to all of these things, though she had not encountered any shadows as of yet—at least if one did not count her encounter with Siarl, the composed but menacing Macabre Dancer of black and silver, who had claimed that she and he were alike.

To return to the present, Lycoris had recovered from her small spell of weakness, and had now gestured for the party to advance along the mazelike formation of bridges and passageways in an attempt to reach the center.

"You first, Ecchi-kun!" she purred into Skari's ear, causing the Adept Rogue to go stiff for a moment. "After all, we're here for _your_ job extend, not any of ours. And you wouldn't want to keep two poor defenseless girls waiting on you, right?"

To his credit, Skari did not _quite_ descend into a blubbering mess, managing (barely) to keep from doing so, though his face did break out into a massive blush that matched the shade of Lycoris' dress.

'_I should have expected this', _he thought to himself, and so with Ripper's Blades in hand, took the lead.

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga, Sea of Data**

The conversation at the crossroads of The World had only intensified since Morganna had arrived on scene, with the Harvest Cleric Tsukinoki looking upon her counterpart with one of her patented enigmatic stares, all the more so because one could not see her eyes. For a brief moment, the Shadow Warlock in purple and black considered responding in kind, but thought better of it. Mutually assured destruction was much better off avoided, as this realm was that of the Queen of the Dark.

"We need to talk," Tsukinoki had said, as Morganna met her gaze unflinchingly. "What do you know of the one named Ovan?"

"Certainly, my old friend," the former goddess had responded, her expression unreadable as ever. "The Rebirth? Wouldst you not already know of the spots being spread through The World?"

"The AIDA, the shadows born of error, natural AIs."

"As foretold both by Harald and the Epitaph, yes. As you know, humans have physical limits, but the AI has no limits to growth."

"But Harald was wrong," Tsukinoki intoned, causing Morganna to blink in confusion. "For yourself were limited by the fear, the shadow of the Terror of Death hanging over you from the beginning. And in your own rebirth, you are now among the limited by your very words."

"In the other world perhaps, Maya Ibuki," Morganna replied evenly, this time prompting the sorcerer-queen to flinch ever so slightly, the smirk disappearing from her lips. It was not too often that her real identity was brought up, if it had ever been so before. "Not quite so in this one—"

"—For here you hold the aberrant key."

Morganna's mouth closed with an audible click as she observed Tsukinoki warily.

'_How much does she know of what has transpired? With her mastery of information and Rumor by her side, how much has she discovered?'_

"Yes," she conceded, deciding that it was better to admit to what was known than to risk discovery of some of her more sensitive plots. "I have obtained the false child, to keep it from the hands of CC Corp and those who would abuse it."

"Those who would abuse it…and this from one who spawned the Cursed Wave?" Tsukinoki inquired solicitously. "You may convince most, but I know you of old and I know of the false key, created by one who would become _as a god_."

"And failed, driven mad by his own creation, while I have not."

"No, you have merely Data Drained yet another victim," the sorcerer-queen answered sharply, her fingertips brushing the smoothness of Morganna's cheek and making the latter shiver. A moment later, the hand was withdrawn, replaced with the lightest of scrapes and a glare. "Do not think I did not know, Morganna."

Silence hung over the town, as the small Harvest Cleric Rumor looked between both of the mighty ones who stood before him, knowing that if they did come to blows, he for all his power would stand nary a chance. Thus he felt that it would be best to speak up now, distracting them from one another.

None-too-subtly, he coughed, causing both of the others to turn towards him.

"Rumor has it that you have been traveling to the secret areas of The World once more with the help of the Aberrant Key, former goddess of The World."

Silence again, but this time, Morganna looked aged and weary, not bothering to hide her fatigue any longer.

"I search for…" she trailed off, shaking her head as she began again. "I search for the original Epitaph of Twilight, with which I may contact my daughter, who sleeps in the ocean of data as she once did. I search for my children, scattered through The World, whether Terror of Death, Prophet, or Rebirth, they who together serve as guides to the truth. I search for the saffron-haired girl with no shoes, she of the spring breeze. I search for what lies beyond the Wave, for the Wave is but a beginning, and the aggressive AIDA like the unseen winds that shriek across the border. The mutant Tri-Edge infecting one of my children, mutation like I was as Moganna Mode Gone. An outbreak of plague in shadows and void, now quarantined by the Azure Knights, cursed only to pursue."

"You seek, and have you found?" Tsukinoki prompted gently, curious as to what the Shadow Warlock would say. Rumor as well inclined his head, prompting Morganna to go on.

"The Epitaph of Twilight…the one of the Creator's Room, vanished. The Epitaphs all unawakened but one, and an incessant whisper of corruption from Jyotaro Amagi's creation. A hint of madness with cruelty to punish and destroy, fate from which I spare The World."

"And what lies within the False Key?"

"A flawed mirage, with which one may hear. An avenger, to fight against a threat to The World. A failed rebirth that may still be, with a doom that comes at last from one who pursued me long ago, or at least his shadow."

At this, Morganna sighed, remembering the terror that had overwhelmed her all those years ago when a certain twin blade had defeated segment after segment of herself, until at last he charged for her form of The Rebirth with blades drawn in a last desperation attack. She had died, and was reborn. And so for The World to be saved, perhaps The Rebirth must once again die, as well as the false key, the Agent of Id dominating personality.

'_Great goals are always obtained through personal sacrifice…and the future of the world lies at the ends of human will.'_

"Worry not of me, Helba. Worry of Siarl of the Seven Eyes, servant to both AIDA and SEELE."

* * *

**Σ** **Unknown Floating Holy Ground, The Ending World **

While Skari and company were going through a quest to hopefully allow the timid Adept Rogue to finally unlock his second form, a certain Flick Reaper by the name of Tomoyami was undergoing a different kind of trial by fire. While she, like her comrade Skadi, was curious about both the dothackers and the one named Rumor, Tomoyami also had some other motivations in playing The World, namely to gain strength and vent her aggression. She was still a Chaotic PK, after all, and one who enjoyed power quite a bit.

Thus it was no surprise that she thought of the upcoming tournaments in Lumina Cloth as an excellent way of extending her influence and prestige in The World. How better to be known than to become an Emperor (or Empress) of one of the three Arena Circuits? But of course, in order to achieve that end, she needed a team to fight beside her.

'_Skadi would have been ideal as a battle companion, but she does not much care for combat in The World, and seeks to uncover the mysteries and her own nature. Skari is too often with Lycoris, who does not much partake in combat. And thus…thus I must turn to _these,' she thought bitterly.

Following behind her were two characters all too familiar to her in both worlds: a Shadow Warlock and Tribal Grappler known as Arano and Aruna, respectively. Following yet another screw-up by the Idiot Duo, triggering a terrifying demonstration of just how frustrated she was with them, Tomoyami had drafted them to serve on her Arena team in lieu of further classroom cleaning.

And if they were terrified by the threat of a tug at the ear from a vengeful Class Rep, it was almost comical how easily the Idiot Duo was cowed in The World. Her beauty didn't hurt either, with her supple form clad in a loosely flowing white dress with a blue underskirt, offset by the two streaming pigtails of lustrous black hair that framed her face. A simple sashay of her hips or a flick of her demonic scythe, and they were as putty in her hands.

…Which of course, meant that getting them to fight her or anything stronger than what they were used to was a chore in itself.

Now, given her track record with encountering a certain other who liked to call herself "Eris, Bringer of Strife", Tomoyami didn't want her training session disturbed, so she had taken pains to make sure her party would be alone. Scouring the web, she had eventually found the keywords for a certain Legendary Land, posted by a player of The World: R1 named "Wiseman."

The Ending World, which had apparently been a giant eyeball piercing the sky in an earlier version of The World, with the area words posted only a year or so ago. Here, she could train to her hearts delight, in a place where no others were, trying to get the incompetent newbie helpers up to par as far as battling was concerned.

"Look," she all but snarled, becoming quite exasperated after the latest failure in communication. "If you sorry excuse for adventurers expect to make a decent showing for yourselves in the Arena, you have to learn to work together. Remember, you owe me for not forcing you to do cleanup duty for the rest of the year."

Looking to see if the others were paying attention, she smiled to see that Arano was nodding and reaching for his Grimoire Magic Huwawen in preparation for the next bout. As for Aruna—the Tribal Grapper was looking in her direction, but not at her face, or with any indication of having heard what she said. He was instead looking at her not so insignificant assets.

Tomoyami's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as she noticed this, and she felt the sudden urge to cut Aruna down where he stood. With the shoddy defensive stats his class possessed, it would be so easy to strike from afar…but she shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. Incoherent rage would not serve her in battle, especially as she did not have a special berserker form that would allow her to use the power of a beast. A pity, that.

Successfully resisting the urge to PK someone, she decided to have a little bit of fun.

"Arano," she called out to the one person she knew was listening. "I know that you wish to be a warrior, and that is part of why you play The World. You wish to gain strength and be known, to awaken the samurai inside your heart. You are training to become great, to be revered above all others by my side in the Arena, to become one of the strongest in The World. All I ask is that you aid me."

The Shadow Warlock's pulse quickened at these words, and he found his thoughts echoing Tomoyami's words. He did want to be known as a great warrior, and to no longer be looked upon as a weird military-obsessed otaku. Perhaps if he were to be a victor in the tournament, then he would gain respect, at least within the class, where his identity was fairly well known.

He nodded and raised his grimoire, preparing for another assault, only to be met with a waggled finger.

"Not me. Aruna first, so that he actually pays attention. Trust me…its for his own good."

Tomoyami's voice was sweet and cloying, and Arano found himself unable to resist, lifting his tome and intoning "**Zan Rom!"**

The resultant tornado of wind knocked Aruna's character to the ground, and had the added bonus of snapping him out of his trance. The Tribal Grappler, faced with the prospect of coming under friendly fire, reacted quite predictably, leaping up and getting in Arano's face, waving his fast in the air.

"What's the big idea?! One moment I was standing there, the next you attack me! I thought we were friends!" he snarled, forcing the smaller Shadow Warlock backwards. "You want to be a tough guy, I'll show you tough…**Tiger Bi—**oof!"

A cry of frustration escaped his lips, for his PC's hand had impacted not the soft cloth and flesh of his intended target, but the razor sharp blade of a scythe. Seeing that the black haired PK had become quite angry at him, he took a step backwards and attempted pull a Shinji (that is, apologize profusely while dashing away).

"Now that I have your attention," continued Tomoyami of the Shadow. "Lets begin again, shall we? After all, the arena will have foes more powerful than I, and if you want to prove that you are worthy of being tall, dark, and even a little attractive, you will pay attention—to what I'm saying and not stare at my chest the entire time, or I will show you magnitudes more pain and suffering than Eris ever dreamed of doing, Touji Suzuhara. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

Thankfully, this encounter had been in a digital world, else Aruna would have needed new pants, as the way the Flick Reaper was advancing on him, waving her scythe just a millimeter or two from his face, was quite intimidating. And when she promised to show him more pain than his worst nightmare was capable of doing…well, that in itself was quite frightening enough, particularly when he knew just what Eris could do.

"H-hai," he replied, voice quavering in terror at the feral grin that erupted on Tomoyami's face. Mercifully, she backed off and allowed him to stand, nodding to Arano for lending her his assistance.

"If you want to get a girl, any girl, be a man," she said, raising her scythe (the immensely powerful Heine's Zero) in preparation for the next bout. "That means having self control, strength, and a sense of dignity. Unless you can do that, you will never have a fantasy come true. You will never be able to do anything besides being a jock. You will never win a battle in the tournament. You will never beat Eris without someone's help. And you will never earn my respect, to say nothing of defeating me. Now, shall we continue?"

Upon receiving replies in the affirmative, Tomoyami took 10 steps back, as was traditional before a duel. She bowed, and then with a rustle of fabric and whistle of a blade through the air, the Flick Reaper leapt towards the duo, somersaulting forward with scythe poised to strike.

* * *

**Θ**** Dancing Returning Exile, The Inverted Castle**

Back at the Inverted Castle, as the Legendary Land had been known in the days of the old World, the trio of Adept Rogue, Macabre Dancer, and Tribal Grappler were making a small bit of headway. As if it wasn't enough that the field lacked both map and music, it appeared that one could actually interact with the floor elements here. That is, if one was not careful, one might stumble or have part of the ground collapse beneath one's feet, causing a character to plummet to his or her virtual death.

In addition, living shadows crept over the field, concealing powerful monsters drawn to the presence of any players who dared to trespass upon this place. While they would not emerge immediately, the longer that a party took to reach the center, the more frequent and ferocious attacks would become.

The first few minutes had been uneventful, with the three companions traveling in relative silence while looking around warily. There had been only three near plunges into the unknown, two wrong turns, and one encounter with a monster, a Heavens Doom, to be precise.

Skari, made more confident in his role as party leader because of Lycoris' faith in him, had been badly shaken when a huge white figure with saber teeth and a spiked ring lumbered out of the shadows, announcing its presence with a blast of energy. Had he been prepared, it might not have been so bad, but as it was, he was caught in the midsection by its fierce assault, saved from going over the edge only by Lycoris' efforts. As much as he might have wished or dreaded it though, there was no time for a tender moment, for the demonic beast charged.

The words **"Rap Corv! Dek Do!"** were heard in the background as Skadi worked her magic, boosting the party's attack and lowering the creature's speed. With that, the bluenette entered battle, fans whirring and slicing in a very semblance of a dance of death, as she sought to keep the creature off balance with a flurry of blows. Surprisingly, the one of winter found herself smiling very slightly as she considered the irony of the situation.

'_In the other reality, I fight beings called Angels. Here, I fight demons…how curious."_

"**Palm Blast!" **murmured Lycoris as she rushed in, leaping into the air, spinning about and slamming open palms against the monster's eye in a piercing attack that wore at its armor. It reared back and countered with a physical assault, lunging at her with its teeth, though the silver haired girl kept out of range, far more nimble than her outfit would otherwise suggest.

But while Skari had been caught off guard by the monster's appearance, battle was by now a state that Skari knew well and excelled at in both of his worlds, and when the monster attempted to attack one who was dear to him, the Adept Rogue saw red. Snatching up his blades, he charged forward and snarled out **"Ghost Falcon!"**, leaping into the air and delivering a torrent of slashes that sent the monster reeling.

He narrowly managed to avoid a **"Gan Bolg" **fired at the monster by Skadi, and was about to attack again when Lycoris backhanded the creature, which combined with the other assaults knocked it over the edge of the bridge.

"That was the first monster?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Yes," replied the girl in red, looking towards the distant center once again. "And there are more to come." She pointed out three Holy Eaters blocking the way to the nearest spire, creatures that had apparently detected the fall of their comrade and were coming to investigate.

"Logic would dictate that we concentrate on one foe at a time, in order to defeat them quickly," noted Skadi, raising her war fans in preparation for battle. "I will provide healing and fire support."

"Sounds like a plan, Aya—Skadi. Sorry," muttered Skari, whose Ripper's Blades were already extended as he took off, legs carrying him towards the melee as quickly as he could go.

'_I never thought there would be a day when I was running towards a battle instead of away,' _the Adept Rogue thought with amusement. He selected the skill "**Whirlwind**" and spun into battle, his blades moving almost of their own accord as he centered the targets and pulled the switch again and again, eliciting shrieks of pain as he caused pandemonium in the ranks. And beside him, matching him step for step, was his partner Lycoris, keeping just out of the range of his blades while she used her own skill **"Tiger Bite" **to hammer to the enemies he had already weakened.

Suddenly, the silver-haired Tribal Grappler broke off her attack, and thinking he knew why, the Adept Rogue dove and rolled away, just as fireballs rained down from the sky to bombard the space he had been standing in just moments before.

'_Apparently, Skadi decided to use _**"Vak Don"** _silently,' _Skari thought to himself. '_While useful in a PvP situation, maybe she should call out her skills so we don't hit one another accidentally.'_

When the firestorm faded, he was already back on his feet, his weapon charged up as dashed past the three Holy Eaters, hits trailing behind him—with one enemy even falling asleep due to the special ability added to his blades.

The other two opponents retaliated with combo attacks both directed at him, ramming into him from both sides and unleashing twin flares of energy that would have seared his flesh. That is, would have, save that he managed to block one's attack, while Lycoris was beside him, blocking the other with only a soft grunt issuing from her lips. Another magical assault coupled with a dance of blades, and their foes' data was scattered across the field.

With that battle, the trio had reached one of the many spires that dotted the field, a place where they could be momentarily safe from assault…or at least find it easier to hold their ground, as there was only one way in, apparently. The other ways "out" were simply portals of different colors etched into the walls, who would take them Aura-knew-where in the field.

"Are we there yet?" came a voice from right behind Skadi's ear. He whirled, only to relax when he say Lycoris there, a mischievous smile on her face. "Guess you're not as clumsy in battle as when you're just walking, Ecchi-kun!"

She winked, and in spite of himself, Skari smiled, taking one of her hands and squeezing gently. Observing all of this was Skadi, leaning against one of the walls, and she resolved not to let this go too much further. The Macabre Dancer let the edge of a war fan scrape the wall gently.

"Shall we continue? The longer we remain, the worse the assaults will be," she said, stepping towards one of the three portals. Out of the choices of lavender, crimson, and azure, Skadi's obvious choice was the azure portal, as she did not much care for the color red, and she looked at the others expectantly before stepping through.

Lycoris quickly followed, not wanting her friend to have to face an unknown danger by herself, with Shinji as the last, muttering only "I have a bad feeling about this."

His gut instinct turned out to be correct, as the teleport dropped him into a swarm of upright walking swords attuned to the water element, with his two female companions already launching assaults against them.

'_Great. Rue Jugglers, which are supposed to suck the souls of those who have been struck down by their blades.'_

"**Vak Don!"** he cried, a shout made in triplicate as the others likewise decided that magic was the best offense to use for this swarm of enemies, followed by a "**Medek Vorma" **from the Macabre Dancer, lowering the magic defense of the enemies. As if on cue, meteors of fire flared into existence from the aether and hurtled down towards the clumped foes to soften them up for a melee assault, crashing into the swords and leaving them scorched echoes of their former selves.

A few remained to do battle, but they were easily enough dispatched by some swings of the blade, fan, and fist. The trio was just getting ready to move on when a flight of shapes descended from the sky, a Sorcerer Owl flanked by several Raven Claws.

Apparently, forcing the enemy off the side of the walkways would not be an option this time around, since the enemy could take flight. And this mob didn't even have the decency to close the distance before they attacked, instead striking from range with **"Sonic Shots" **and other various skills.

Fortunately, by now the morale bar was full, and so Skari decided to try something new: Demon Awakening. This particular special attack caused the party to stand still, but casts a random attack spell upon the enemy repeatedly.

Skadi had been about to use a spell herself, but found herself rendered immobile by the party leader's decision to use an Awakening. Over and over **"Gan Bolg" **was cast, spikes of earth lancing out at the swooping avians. The Raven Claws quickly fell, and by the end of it, all that was left was one extremely angry looking Sorcerer Owl, which still had a good deal of HP left due to its superior defenses.

"**Ghost Falcon!" **Skari's voice rang out as soon as he was able to move again. The highest level aerial assault available to him, he needed to use it to counter the effects of his enemy's swooping down on him.

"**Rapid Attack!" **called Lycoris, arms blurring as she struck at the Sorcerer Owl again and again, though it countered by slamming her down into the ground.

"**Rap Do! Dek Orma! Ul Repth!" **Skadi, as the sole caster of the party, was working overtime, finding herself hard-pressed to keep up with the rate of damage the enemy was inflicting. She cast a speed boost to the party, a decrease in Magical Attack and Defense for the foe, and a healing spell to Lycoris, helping her to recover some of her HP.

The Adept Rogue knew he had to wait for the enemy to get in range again, but for his plan to work he had to get it angry at him. Selecting **"Rue Kruz" **from his list of available skills, he watched in rapt anticipation as shards of ice shimmered into existence and converged upon the Sorcerer Owl, slamming into it and sending it spiraling downwards.

That was his cue to continue.

"**Sparrow Counter!" **he bellowed, his dual swords locking forward as he leapt into the air and practically tackled the creature out of the air. "Everyone together, now!"

He was soon joined by Lycoris, whose "**Palm Blast" **wore away at its defenses, and then by Skadi, whose razor fans sliced here and there, aiming to carve up the magical bird. It attempted to strike back with one magical blast after another, but the trio knew that they had to either win—or die. There was no alternative.

The melee attackers swarmed the fallen avian, unleashing skill upon skill on its relatively unprotected stomach, somersaulting, flipping, and rolling to avoid pecks and slashes. And then finally, just when they thought the enemy would never fall, Skadi cried out **"Ani Zot!"**, and claws of darkness dragged the bird down into the underworld.

There was nothing to be said for some time after that, with the only sound heard in that field labored breathing, before even that finally faded back to a normal rhythm. The trio took that time to replenish their HP and SP via potions and other healing items they had brought with them, wondering what the next spire jump would lead to.

Sure enough, there was another choice of colors, this time between green, silver, and gold. Having chosen the last time and not having any instinctual revulsion to any of the colors, Skadi deferred to the others. Still a little out of breath, Skari let Lycoris choose this time, and without nary a word, the party trooped through the silver portal—

—and found themselves having to duck behind some debris on the bridge to evade an attack from a Solid Eye flanked by two Gaze Knights.

"An excellent choice of portal, Lycoris," Skadi said archly.

"You picked an interesting time to learn to use sarcasm!" the silver-haired girl shot back, peeking around the rock fall to see just how close the enemy creatures were. They were slow creatures, but immensely powerful and heavily armored, meaning that their armor had to be worn down before the enemy would even begin to take serious damage. Granted, the Solid Eye had a shield protecting its face, but that was the only discernable difference between them.

"**Tri-Strike!" "Palm Blast!" "Gan Bolg!"**

Skills and magic spells of the piercing variety were best for fighting these rather formidable foes, and so that is what the party chose to use, targeting the Gaze Knights first, as those would most likely fall more easily.

_Boom! _Skari barely managed to avoid the massive metal fist that slammed into the ground where he had been standing. It was tough work leaping from creature to creature, striking while avoiding the piercing spikes being projected by the Macabre Dancer of the group. He kept targeting one as best he could, unleashing a **"Gan Bolg" **at point blank range. As long as Skari kept moving, he could evade them…if he couldn't, then he was likely dead.

Lycoris also struck nimbly, using the speed and grace afforded to her by her nature in order to avoid attacks while dealing damage. She leapt like a cat, dodging the blows and striking with the **"King Hammer" **attack at one, then another, then another. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), she was the fastest of the trio, managing even to get in between them and have them all rush at her—only for her to jump out of the way and for them to stun one another.

"**Gan Bolg" **again, followed by another flurry of strikes, and now the armor of the Gaze Knights was down. She struck with her gauntlets Feline Soul, landing a critical and blowing one into digital dust, before turning to the next.

Her hands were a blur of motion as she took out the next monster as well, just in time to see Skari get trampled underfoot by the Solid Eye, his avatar slamming into the ground with a sickening thud, blades spinning away.

Underneath her feet, the ground had begun to crack from the Solid Eye's rampage, and as much as she wanted to finish it off, Lycoris knew she had to pull Skari to safety before the walkway collapsed. For if it did and they were still on it, they would not have another chance at this event, and would have to wait until the next Job Extend.

"Skadi, help me!" she barked out, taking hold of the fallen Adept Rogue and pulling him back away from the enemy as cracks shot through the flooring. The Macabre Dancer looked around quickly and rushed to comply, so that between the two of them, they carried the Skari out of the danger zone, just as the walkway collapsed. Luckily, there was another spire behind them, with more choices of colored portals to pass through, and after healing and respelling the party, another portal was chosen…a lavender one this time.

It was a long, hard road to the central spire: more battles were fought, with the party breezing through some, struggling through others, and barely escaping death on more than a few occasions.

And then at last, they were but a short walk away from their goal, with just a Maxima Bazooka to defeat before they reached their objective. Like the other monsters they had faced in this field, this promised to be a difficult battle, as the Maxima Bazooka, an ogre like the Gun Giant, had incredibly high defense and HP, with large size that belied its agility.

Hence, Skari was a bit nervous when it came time to face this final boss, one whose power and level surpassed all the others they had faced in the field. But weighing his options, he looked to the other members of his party, who were ready to finish this particular quest, and realized that there was no turning back. They had spent hours of their time in order to help him, and to honor their sacrifice, he had to be willing to face down this last opponent.

'_How very much like my first field run in The World.'_

At a signal from Lycoris, the Adept Rogue leapt into action one final time, his blades poised to strike as he swiftly closed the distance between himself and his foe. But he never managed to close, as the monster heard his footsteps and sprang into the air, blasting the area with attacks from the cannons mounted on its arms.

Skadi, the Macabre Dancer, managed to distracted the enemy for a moment, summoningclaws of darkness with "**Ani Zot" **to rake and tear at it when it hit the ground. She reasoned, correctly, that the blind monster would only be able to retaliate if it heard an attack coming, and silently casting spells was a good alternative to that.

The Maxima Bazooka did not much care for that, and decided to turn its attention to the groaning Skari, who was just recovering from the blow that he had taken. It lumbered forward at a surprisingly rapid clip, footfalls making a _**clash-clash-clash**_as they impacted the ground one after another.

Moving to intercept, Lycoris dashed forward with all the speed she could muster, launching herself into the air with a shout—her path describing a perfect arc to land upon the monster's head.

"**Palm Blast!**" she called out, slamming her hand down onto the creature as it bucked and shook and tried to throw her off. In response, it crouched down, its head nearly touching the floor, as Lycoris braced herself for what was to come. Sure enough, the foe-unleashed hell with its bazookas, creating a huge impact on the ground that sent the others flying backwards, and itself flying upwards.

Thinking quickly, the silver-haired girl knew now that the monster was too high in level for her companions, and that if it struck a few more times, they would be finished. Before, their party had the advantage of either speed or power, but neither was true this time, so she was forced to invoke a skill that neither of her companions had heard of.

"**Loving Boomerang Hook!"**

Her gloved fists slammed into the creature, rewriting its data much in the same way as Data Drain would in earlier generations, turning the creature into a mere Gun Giant. A tap of her gauntlets later, and the creature disintegrated in mid-air, leaving the Tribal Grappler to land on the walkway with perfect grace.

Not having heard the skill being used, Skari and Skadi could only look at her and blink at how quickly their companion had destroyed the monster.

'_Hakubo was holding back her true abilities, it seems. She must be much higher level than either of us surmised.'_

"Well," said Skari, scratching his head awkwardly, "lets go into the final chamber."

The trio joined up again and prepared to walk through the doors of the central spire—only to find that the passageway would only allow one at a time, and that the small chamber within was only large enough for one. Since it was a Job Extend quest, they allowed Skari to go ahead, and he proceeded inside, only to find no treasure chest, and no more portals to elsewhere, merely a large stone with a Bayonet embedded in it. Disappointed that that was all there was to find, the Adept Rogue drew the weapon from the rock—and promptly vanished.

* * *

**Harald's Room**

Apparently, that was not quite the end, as he reappeared in a room with a surface like rippling water, whose brightness disoriented him, save for a dimmer spot towards the ceiling. Blinking once, twice, three times, Skadi gradually recovered his vision and turned to the dimmer spot only to take a step backwards. Floating in the air was an immense humanoid shaped creature suspended upside down, with a green ring about its torso. He tensed, but it didn't seem to move, and almost relaxed when it spoke.

"I shall ask you a question," came the voice from above. "Is my daughter safe and sound?"

Skari only smiled sadly, not truly knowing how to answer, and trying to think of how to reply.

"Answer me", the voice insisted.

In this situation, maybe a response from the Old Shinji was appropriate, and so he replied accordingly.

"I'm sorry, but I do not know your daughter. I hope that she well though."

There was a pause, as if the red form was considering his answer, and then a reply.

"I shall not bequeath you this bayonet. However, I will grant you what you seek."

A flash of light, and from here as well he faded, to reappear in another place and time.

* * *

**Θ**** Dancing Returning Exile, The Inverted Castle**

It had been several minutes since Skari had entered the central spire, with nothing heard of him since. Surely it did not take that long to enter and come out again, prize in hand? Lycoris was beginning to worry, knowing what she did of The World, and so she stepped through the low-cut door next, emerging into the chamber to a stone with an extremely familiar weapon, one that had she had last seen year ago.

'_The Divine Spear of Wotan. Alberio's weapon.'_

Not quite believing her eyes, the silver-haired girl reached out and touched the weapon of The World: R1, finding it to be quite real. She pulled on it gently, and it came loose, until she held in hand the weapon that had once been her demise. Associated with it were memories of the one who had wielded it as well, and she shed a tear remembering the day he had left The World, when Morganna had sent a Guardian to keep him from seeing Tsukasa.

With a flash of light, she too, was taken to the realm of Harald.

* * *

**Harald's Room**

Upon materializing in the room of shifting colors, Lycoris recognized the location as one that was all too familiar to her.

'_A room of the creator. Of the ghost in the church. Of my father…'_

Sure enough, when she looked to the ceiling, there was the massive red human form that she remembered as being the throne of Harald, even if the old man was not present. She supposed it was appropriate enough, an empty chair for a world abandoned, but she feared too, what it could mean. Instead of asking her a question, it simply spoke to her, recognizing her for who she was.

"You cannot become Aura, it is not who you were designed to become."

"And so I am not," she replied, finding strength within her as she clutched the Spear. "I remember that from what you said to me seven years ago."

'…_when you had me deleted,'_ she left unspoken.

"Then why have you come here? You were once a failed prototype."

"Because…because you were wrong, father. Because both humans and AI have limits to growth, but I have not experienced them. I want to know where the road will lead, I want to see what lies there. Have you not made mistakes in your time? And yet, is there growth without error?"

"Mistake. That is what you were, in the creation of Aura, the shining one, to whom I entrusted the future of The World. A failure."

Lycoris shuddered as she heard these words anew, still cutting as deeply as the first time she heard them. Holding the Divine Spear of Wotan, she looked down at the ground and took a deep breath, answering her father.

"I was once an unwanted child, but I have become more than that. I have reached the point of liminality, discovered what it means to be, and not live in fear, father. And was it not you who said that 'it is arrogant for one to reject change because it is undesirable?'" That ''rejection of change is the rejection of possibilities?'" That one should allow diversity? You created The World in order to give birth to Aura, the proof that you loved Emma. Would you continue to estrange someone else who is loved?"

Silence from the AI Harald as it sought to process what had been said to it.

"Answer me, father."

Another moment's hesitation, then a response.

"I will ask you a question. How is Aura, my daughter?"

Somehow, she knew how to reply, as if the words were deep inside of her.

"Aura…is integrated into The World, as her name means. She sleeps safe in the ocean of data, allowing humans to forge the future of the world, as you created her, long ago. And as you created me. Thank you."

The AI Harald paused, its yellow eyes narrowing as it regarded Lycoris, his unacknowledged daughter, and considered what to do.

"Mmm…I cannot bequeath you with this spear of a world long past," it spoke, its voice resonant in the emptiness. "But I will wish you happiness, and bequeath you with this bayonet for who you have chosen."

The Divine Spear of Wotan faded, to be replaced by a bayonet unique in The World, as a pulse of light washed outward from the AI Harald, teleporting Lycoris away to another place.

* * *

**Θ**** Dancing Returning Exile, The Inverted Castle**

The Macabre Dancer Skadi was quickly becoming annoyed. Could it be that she had been abandoned by both of her party members, after working so hard with them to come to the final destination of the field? There was absolutely no sound from within the spire, and she wondered what could have happened. Lycoris, after all, was much more powerful in this World than she let on, and not for the first time, Skadi wondered what the silver-haired girl had meant when she had said that The World was her bond to all people.

A strange feeling of unease grew inside of her as the minutes passed, and at last she too entered the central spire, to find what the others had, a weapon embedded in a stone. It resembled a pair of folded fans, though when she drew them from the rock, she found that they were not fans after all, but a pair of dual swords.

'_Lit Honeysuckle.'_

Light erupted above her, and then she too vanished from the field, leaving the Inverted Castle silent once more.

* * *

**Harald's Room**

The first thing that Skadi noticed when she emerged in the hidden chamber was that she stood surrounded by azure waves of what seemed like water. The second thing that she noticed was that before her floated an enormous figure all of red, the color she most despised. It was suspended upside down, its form bound by a green ring that kept it immobile, and it looked at her with strange golden eyes somewhat like those of Lycoris.

"I shall ask you a question," came the voice from above. "Is my daughter safe and sound?"

Skadi blinked in confusion, having expected a question on the lore of The World or something else as demanding, rather than a question asking of a person she did not know.

"…" was what hung in the air, as the Macabre Dancer tried to think of what to say.

"Answer me", the voice insisted.

"I apologize, but I do not know your daughter. May she…be well."

A pause, as if the red form was considering his answer, and then a reply.

"I shall bequeath you with these swords."

A flash of light, and she vanished, leaving AI Harald alone once more.

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

One after another, the three members of the party appeared before the Chaos Gate of Mac Anu, but each with some changes. Skari had been upgraded to his Steam Gunner form, Skadi was in a state of mild confusion, and Lycoris…Lycoris merely looked thoughtful.

They each looked around, almost as if surprised to be in Mac Anu once more, and then looked at what each of the others were carrying. Without a word, both Skadi and Lycoris approached Skari, handing him a set of dual swords and a bayonet respectively.

'_Lit Honeysuckle and Maxwell…'_ he thought to himself, reading over each of the weapon names. Then he blushed, recalling something he had been told, about how Honeysuckle was a symbol for the bonds of affection. Looking at Skadi, he saw that she would not meet his gaze, and that there was a hint of crimson on her cheeks as well.

The three walked in silence out the doors and through the crowd of Mac Anu, until at last they came to the bridge, where all three looked out over the waters.

"There was a room of azure," Skari reflected, after a time.

"A man who asked a question, perched upon a throne of souls," Skadi added.

"Wondering about his daughter," chimed in Lycoris.

"I wonder if he'll ever find what he was searching for."

Each pondered that question for a time, coming to their own conclusions in the twilight hour of Mac Anu.


	24. Logout 10: Salient Dreaming

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: A Dream's Coming Out of its Shell**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

A/N: Thank you to all of those who have been reading from day 1, who have come back to this fic after my occasional disappearances. Your patience in waiting for a next chapter and your concern for my being has been greatly appreciated. For those of you just joining us, thanks for reading and please leave a review. It'd be great to know what you think, and I'd appreciate the feedback! Now, on with the story...

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Mall, School Excursion Shopping Trip**

Two figures were moving at a frenzied pace through one of the department stores in Tokyo-3, the smaller towing the other against his will in the way that one member of a young couple often would. Shopping, after all, was not traditionally given most favored activity status with most males. Of course, that a male had been dragged into a mall wasn't the reason for the alternative snickers, dirty looks, or pitying expressions at the comical sights—rather, it was because the two people in question were a red-headed teenage gaijin and a rather older man, instantly recognizable by his ponytail and 5-o'clock-shadow.

Sure he was smiling, but that was only because of his public persona, a mirage of deceit that most were unable to pierce, hiding the despair in his hair with irrepressible flirtation and hope. Well, that and he also enjoyed time with his former ward, though the _oh-so-great Asuka Langley Soryu_ obviously saw it as more than a friendly shopping trip, trying to model for him clothes that were increasingly provocative, only to break off at a certain point, proceeding to drag him breathlessly around the mall.

His legs starting to get a little tired, Ryoji looked over and almost breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of something that might catch Asuka's attention, mentally thanking whatever fallen gods had brought about this end.

"Ah, wait! Here's the swimsuit section!" he said jovially, grateful simply for the opportunity to rest his feet for a moment.

The red-headed German girl, picking up on the joy but misreading the reason why, smiled all the more widely, thinking of this as an opportunity to impress the ponytailed spy with her womanly figure.

'_Maybe then, he'll look at me…I want him to look at me.'_

Whether in this world or in The World, the only ones who ever looked at her were the ones she did not want: the perverts, the empty eyed dolls, the bluenettes. Some desired her, some hated her, some simply cared not for her at all, completely apathetic to her existence. And that scared her more than she was willing to admit to herself…didn't she deserve the attention of others, after all? Wasn't she good enough? Sometimes it seemed that the only ones who actually paid attention to her were the Third Child and his girlfriend, who was actually a pretty nice person...even if she did resemble a porcelain doll.

'_As much as I hate dolls, she's been more than kind to me. And she journeyed with me to the peaks of Al Fadel, where I have gained such power…'_

All but running over to the rack of swimsuits, she paused, her eyes felling upon one that she liked almost immediately, a skimpy red and white sting bikini that definitely showed off her ample assets. Snatching it up, she held it up for Kaji to see.

"Hey, how 'bout this one?" she asked, eyes bright with desire.

Kaji suppressed the urge to wince in frustration. While he enjoyed Asuka's antics and firebrand personality, even he had to admit that she could occasionally get out of hand (and he didn't even want to know what might happen if she were to lose the bounds of reason). And while her crush on him was flattering, he thought she would be better off with someone her own age.

'_Besides…most of what I show to others is but a front in any case. I don't even know if I am capable of true love, ever since that childhood betrayal…'_

He didn't say that out loud of course, instead needling his former ward where he knew she'd feel it.

"Aren't you a little young for something like that?" he asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

Asuka Langley Soryu merely rolled her eyes, striking a model's pose as she responded.

"Oh Kaji, you're just an old man, and entirely out of date," she shot back, a smile playing at the edges of her lips. "There days, suits like these are quite common."

This time, the unshaven man did raise a skeptical brow.

"Oh, is that so?" he asked, unconvinced after his exploits as a master of seduction.

"But of course," the overly energetic teenager responded, nodding enthusiastically and grabbing his arm. "And this is going to be something new for the school trip, since we're supposed to refresh ourselves. You've seen how _hard_ I've been working, haven't you Kaji? That's why we're out on this date, right?"

If this were an anime, Kaji would probably have spawned a sweatdrop large enough to make him fall over. As it was, he merely selected an action that one might term Shinji-esque, verbally running away (or as its more conventionally known, changing the subject). Fortunately, there had been something of interest buried in her bit of rambling that he could pick on.

"So, where are you going on this school excursion?" he wondered out loud, since he'd never gone on one himself.

"O-ki-na-wa!" the redhead replied, sounding out each syllable in a manner she thought was kawaii. "We're gonna be scuba-diving!"

"Hmm, scuba-diving..." the unshaven man murmured, thinking of the last time he had had a chance to do that. "It's been a few years since went I diving..."

He trailed off, an awkward silence descending around the two, with the redhead continuing to look at clothing for a few minutes as he looked away. Seeing that her former guardian was unusually distracted, she looked over at him, curious.

"Hey, where'd you go for your school excursion?" she inquired, not really knowing much about his past, though he'd lived with her for a time.

This time, the older man's smile was tinged with a regret as he looked at her once more, shaking his head.

"I never got to go on one," he said simply, words that immediately prompted Asuka to probe deeper into his past.

"How come?" she asked, taking the bait. Wasn't it all but expected for students to go on school excursions once a year?

For a moment, Asuka thought she could see dark shadows pass over Kaji's face, though when she blinked, they were gone, meaning she must have just imagined it.

"Because of Second Impact."

* * *

**Horaki Residence**

Rei Ayanami sat in the midst of an unfamiliar room, a slightly puzzled expression on her face as she looked around. Not being one for gratuitous amounts of social interaction, she had never set foot in another person's place of residence before, and it was quite a shock to see the world outside her apartment.

'_It is so…clean here,'_ she thought to herself, furrowing her brow slightly._ 'Why is this so, when it will only get dirty again? Is the effort __not __an exercise in futility?'_

This confusion did not go unnoticed by her host, friend, class representative and gaming partner Hikari Horaki, who worried that the blue-haired girl might be displeased by her living conditions.

"Is something wrong, Ayanami-san?" the pigtailed girl inquired solicitously, feeling somewhat uneasy at the thought of what her friend might say. For all she knew, the enigmatic Rei Ayanami might turn out to be a closet interior decorator, concealing a thinly veiled sneer as she made note of all the incongruous elements under the Horaki roof. Well, maybe not a sneer, but the level stares of the blue-haired one always seemed to take in everything, observing, judging, and cataloging everything into an infinite repository of knowledge.

Fortunately for her, the blue haired girl was also unlearned in the arts of deception, and thus refreshingly direct.

"…I am sorry," Rei responded hesitantly, words that caused Hikari to almost fly into a panic before the half-angel continued. "…but I have never been to another's place of residence before. I am unfamiliar with the proper protocol to follow."

Hikari just blinked in surprise, a few seconds passing before her lips managed to shape the words: "Oh…what do you think, Ayanami-san?"

"It is…substantially larger than my place of habitation, and better kept, as Ikari-kun would likely tell me."

She said this while wearing her normally stoic expression on her face, though if one was paying attention (and not inclined to brush odd occurrences off as tricks of the light), a blush could just barely be seen on her face. Granted, it wasn't anything like Shinji's tomato-beet-and blood shade of blush, but then, very few things were. And on Rei's pale complexion, it stood out all the more.

"Ooh…Ikari-kun, is it?" Hikari teased, eager for a juicy bit of gossip. She was, after all, a teenage girl who enjoyed hearing about the crushes and relationships of friends. "I think someone has a crush…"

"A…crush," Rei repeated slowly, testing how the word felt in her mouth. "Is that what one calls the sensation of warmth here when one thinks of another? Or when one feels the touch of another?"

She pressed a hand to one of her shapely breasts, causing the very straight-laced Hikari to gasp in surprise.

"You and Ikari-san…you're not…" the pigtailed girl began, stumbling over her words. She stopped short, took a deep breath, and tried without avail to banish the naughty mental pictures of the two Eva pilots her mind was conjuring all too quickly. "You're not…living in sin, right? I would never have pictured—"

"What is 'living in sin?'" Rei inquired, tilting her head in thought, fingers of her hand idly circling the place her heart would be.

The pigtailed girl blanched, her composure breaking down by the second, as she had not really expected or prepared to give a lecture on the basics of sexuality or morality.

"Its…its…when a boy and a girl desire one another—"

"—As you and Suzuhara-san do, Horaki-inchou?"

Hikari's mouth fell open in shock, working up and down a few times before she closed it with an audible click, looking down at the floor with a furious blush, perfectly matching the color of the ribbon on her school uniform. She could feel Ayanami's gaze upon her, those crimson eyes eating into the light of her very soul, and it made her uneasy that the unsocial girl had picked up on her attraction to the jock so easily.

"Is it…that obvious?" she managed to squeak out, her eyes darting up to her blue-haired friend and then back to the floor.

"Only to one who watches humanity in the land of Twilight."

Seeing an opportunity to escape from this line of questioning, Hikari seized it with both hands.

"The land of twilight?" she echoed, raising an eyebrow in interest. "Clearly you've been playing The World for far too long, Skadi, with the Adept Rogue who mirrors you perfectly. Its so cute seeing you two together…did you enjoy your little job extend quest with Shinji? Where you gave him the Honeysuckle blades? That's very bold of you, giving him the 'bonds of love'."

Were it someone who had spent less time with Rei, her reaction would have been muted, though in this case, the slight widening of the eyes and faint blush were a dead giveaway.

"…you know the meaning of honeysuckle?" she questioned, looking up at Hikari's warm brown eyes. When the other nodded, she continued. "It was a…strange quest at an inverted castle, ending with an encounter with a man perched upon a throne of souls asking of his daughter."

"Perhaps we should inquire of Rumor what he knows? Or of Hakubo-san, as I had not seen information on that quest on the message boards."

The two looked at one another, remembering the AI that had brought them together to the Keel Mountains, mentioning such things as the Queen of the Dark, the Dothackers, and shadows born of error.

'_Shadows born of error…could it be?'_

"…I have seen the shadows," Rei said, looking troubled for the first time that evening. "Black spots dancing about another Macabre Dancer. Siarl."

"What could it mean?"

"I…do not know," answered the azure-haired girl, looking away into the hazy distance. "I sense danger to come in the days ahead."

After a moment, she continued.

"How was your…date…with Aruna?"

"It's not like that!" Hikari frantically tried to deny, the defensiveness only serving to confirm Rei's suspicions. Seeing the unflappable gaze directed at her once more, the pigtailed girl caved. "Well…ok, maybe a little. We're just training for the Arena matches at Lumina Cloth. And he's paying attention most of the time…when he isn't be a pervert."

"And your team's name?"

"Team Aida, meaning Moonlight. I have defeated the Doppelganger, after all," Hikari boasted with a rare smile. "Very few have managed to beat such a formidable foe."

"Was there another reason?" Ayanami inquired. The First Child had rather thought that her friend might use "Team Tomoyami or Darkness Rising", but Aida?

The Class Representative of class 2-A merely sighed in frustration, shrugging her shoulders.

"…you have no idea how hard it is to get a caster to work with you when you're a Chaotic PK. Aida made it a condition of being on the team…Suzuhara normally goes along with what I say, but Aida needs bribing sometimes. Speaking of work…are you ready for the school excursion to Okinawa?"

"…I cannot go."

"Why not? Oh…you have to stay behind in case an Angel Attacks?"

"…Yes."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Hikari said consolingly, though her eyes grew narrow and calculating after a while. "Wait…I take that back. You get to spend an entire week with Ikari-kun… Hakubo-san will be jealous, you know!"

Rei Ayanami, the seeming unflappable flower of the battlefield and First Child, found her emotions betraying her as she blushed fiercely.

"…You embarrass me."

"What are friends for?" the brown-eyed girl teased.

* * *

**Kaji's Apartment**

Of all the things that could be said of Kaji's place of residence, perhaps the most notable was that it did not reflect the appearance of the unshaven, ponytailed spy. Not overtly anyway, though one could argue that its look was carefully composed just to throw off anyone who might have expectations about it. In fact, it had an almost immaculate air to it, being cleaner than even Misato's apartment (no small feat, considering that her apartment was under Shinji's aegis), yet just scattered enough to seem lived in.

With its modern glass and metal furnishings, it could be said to resemble an office much more than a dwelling place, even if a very comfortable office where one could sleep—or entertain guests of the female persuasion—on occasion. It was even equipped with white noise generators to help the owner sleep, as he claimed a mild sensitivity to the sounds of traffic entering from outside.

But it had been empty for long enough today, as the front door creaked open slowly and Ryoji Kaji entered, his eyes darting about as he checked for signs of intrusion or tampering. Seeing nothing obviously out of place, he secured the door and then pulled out a miniature electronic bug detector, doing a quick sweep of the place. In his line of work, it never hurt to exercise a little bit of caution, as it wasn't paranoia when they were really after you.

Finding nothing, he put his sweeper away and headed to his study, where he slumped down at his chair and booted his computer. To be honest, he was rather tired from his day of shopping, especially at the end when he had had to break the news to Asuka that she probably would not be allowed to go on the school excursion, but he had his work to do.

Recounting that particular conversation, the fiery redhead had protested, but Kaji had informed her that it wasn't _his_ decision, but Misato's, causing the girl to pout and whine about being betrayed. Kaji had then had to reassure her that it was because the German girl was undoubtedly NERV's best pilot, asking what they would do in the event that an Angel attacked when she was gone. Asuka deflated after that, the flattery having gone to her head, and her former guardian was glad that he didn't have to resort to more devious measures to convince her that staying was the best decision.

Now, the unshaven spy had of course made some alterations to the ALTIMIT MINE OS to make it more secure, since one of his secrets was some hidden skill in programming. He was not quite on par with Ritsuko Akagi, whose skills were legendary, and so wasn't good enough to hack into a Magi system without being detected (at best, his programs could stall the supercomputer for a short time, a feat in itself).

As an agent for multiple organizations, whether as a special inspector for NERV, an agent for the Japanese Ministry of the Interior, or an agent of SEELE, there was only so much he could do personally to further his own desire to find the truth. For he knew that his employers would only reveal what they had to on a need to know basis, and that once his personal usefulness was outlived, they would probably terminate him.

Thus, Ryoji Kaji, master spy, needed someone on the outside to balance the odds, someone whose interests were aligned with his and whose skills could match or beat any of the computer technicians at the agencies he worked for. He had been searching for someone like that for a very long time, following many leads from his contacts, and sorting through possibilities until only one was left.

As luck would have it, the only hacker he knew of with the skill level he needed was one spoken of in rumors and hushed whispers, one who was legendary in her field as one of the saviors of the global network. The problem was that there was almost nothing known about her, save that she was very active in the game called The World, meaning that he might have to actually spend some time in that virtual world to find her.

"Helba, the Queen of the Dark," Kaji muttered to himself, stroking his unshaven chin. Perhaps an indirect approach was best, going on the message board and inquiring about the Epitaph of Twilight, from which the name was drawn. It seemed a frivolous use of time, but if it would help him in his quest to find the truth, then he would do it.

Giving his attention to the small icon in the upper right corner, '**The World: R2**', he selected it and waited for the game to load. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long, as the optimized computer popped up the title screen.

His lips quirked up into a smile, as he had not had time for games in a very long time, yet he knew immediately what he wanted his character to be. A Steam Gunner with fair skin and black hair bound up in a ponytail, wearing orange sunglasses, a blood red tunic, black trousers, and a flowing black overcoat.

Upon reflecting, he thought that perhaps it might be useful to tweak a setting or two, seeing as his character looked like a cross between himself and the Bastard King Gendo Ikari. But perhaps the infamous Gendo Pose™ would come in handy if he ever had to use it, so he kept the appearance. As for the name…well, if he wanted to contact Helba, he would have to name himself something out of the Epitaph to get her attention.

Somehow, he just knew that choosing the name of **Gendor, **named for one of the three shadowed ones who had quested for the Twilight Dragon (specifically a young man from a band of humans who settled in the Dividing Forest) would come back to haunt him, but he continued on anyway, his mind made up.

First, he logged onto the message boards and composed a post, hoping to lure out anyone who knew of his quarry.

**_:Subject_**_: Epitaph of Twilight_

**_:Author_**_: Gendor_

_Does anyone here know of the Epitaph, and its meaning in this new version of The World? Rumor has it that the continuing struggle of Aperion, King of Light and Helba, Queen of the Dark, against the Cursed Wave continues to hold some importance even now._

Posting his message, he closed out from the BBS, and logged into The World, trying to see what he could find from the rumors that were bound to fly in any large gathering of people.

* * *

**Outskirts of Tokyo-3**

For all that it was the great fortress city and home to the 1st Branch of NERV, Tokyo-3 could be quite deserted sometimes, especially out in the periphery in the hours of twilight. Cars sped down the streets and the trains hurtled from stop to stop, but as with almost every gathering of people, the activity was concentrated in the center, where light was brightest. Perhaps there was some truth to the old saying that humanity feared the darkness, and so lit torches to ward off the encroaching of the shadows.

Evidently, the truism did not apply to all, as out on the fringes of the city, two figures walked hand in hand, content to just be with one another at the end of a hectic day. One was Lycoris, or Reimeiki Hakubo as she was called in this world, the rays of the setting sun kissing her silver tresses and her alabaster, almost translucent skin. The other was the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, who until recently would never have thought it possible that someone might actually care for him. And yet, here he was, with an enigmatic young girl whose fingers were gently intertwined with his.

There was much about her that Shinji still didn't know, much about her past that she never talked about. Oh, Reimeiki had spoken of her past playing The World, of how she felt a bond to all things, and how she was an unwanted child like him, but there was so much he longed to ask. Why certain parties had referred to her as a sister to a Goddess, for instance, or why she felt so strongly about The World and those within it? Or, perhaps her relationship to someone Kensuke would mention from time to time: Helba, Queen of the Dark, one of the greatest hackers in the world.

'_But that will come in time,'_ he thought. For now, he was simply content to walk with her in comfortable silence, each saying to the other what they needed to in glances and in touch, walking closely enough that if Misato or the Idiot Duo had seen them, there would have been no end to the teasing. At the moment, Shinji wouldn't have minded, since after tonight, he wouldn't be able to see Lycoris again for a week.

'_I wish I had been able to go on the class excursion, but then…being the Slayer of Angels does have a price. Of course, if paying that price means that I can protect someone I…care for, then so much the better.'_

The breeze fluttered around the two lovers, its soft caress at once soothing and chilling. Shivering a little, Lycoris huddled closer to her companion, who didn't seem to blush quite as much as he used to, instead just putting an arm around her waist and holding her as they walked.

"This is a lonesome city, isn't it?" Lycoris remarked as they walked along.

"Sometimes it is," Shinji replied. "But sometimes Mac Anu can be as well, especially at night when not too many people are online."

"True…" the silver-haired girl whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder and smiling. "But it doesn't feel so lonely when you're there…I don't feel like an unwanted child."

"I'm glad," the Third Child murmured, squeezing Lycoris' hand gently as they walked up a hill to a certain place full of memories for Shinji. He had been fairly secretive about it, wanting to make it a surprise for her, and was glad when she had just agreed to go out with him the day before the excursion.

In the sky, the golden orb of sun slowly meandered towards the horizon, leaving in its wake the beautiful pastels of sunset—streaks of red and orange, purples and blues scattered across the tapestry of the heavens. The spires of the city ached in reaching for the sky, and seemed almost to sigh and sag, casting long shadows across the face of earth, and in the hazy distance could just be heard the waves upon the shore.

After some time, the couple came to a halt—at the very overlook that Misato had taken Shinji to after his first Angel battle. The view from there reminded him of what he fought to protect, though the girl in his arms was as well. She had showed him how not to blush at every little thing (though he still found it hard when he had her in his arms, or she made one of those comments that just embarrassed him in front of Ayanami, who he was unsure how he felt about), but more importantly, she had taught him to smile, and to have faith in himself.

"This was a wonderful surprise," Lycoris murmured, looking over at Shinji and giving him a squeeze. "Thank you for taking me here."

"It's beautiful up here, isn't it?" he replied, returning the embrace. "I came here after the first time I had to fight an Angel to protect the city, so that I knew what I was fighting for, that there is still something precious after such terrible destruction."

"Mmm…"

"But now, I don't have to come here to know that," he said, looking at her, while pulling something out of his bookbag. He seemed a little nervous as he handed it over to the silver-haired girl. "Here…I have something for you."

Looking down, she saw in her hand a single flower of a purplish-reddish hue, one she recognized as a variety of plant often called…

"Ambrosia," she breathed. But upon identifying the flower, she couldn't quite keep a gleam of mischief from her eyes. "Did you give me the food of the gods because you wanted to date a goddess?"

Shinji chuckled, his deep blue eyes looking into Lycoris' captivating golden ones as he leaned close to her.

"No, Reimeiki-chan," he whispered, "I gave you an ambrosia blossom because it means…" Here he hesitated for a second, unable to give voice to the meaning.

But the girl of Twilight, named for one blossom, knew the meaning of this other one.

"…mutual love," she finished for him, closing the distance between them and silencing his awkwardness with a kiss.


	25. Login 10: Data Acquisition

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Automated Ideal Data Acquisition**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

The city of Mac Anu was rather quiet at nighttime, as cities are wont to be, with few lingering in the cobbled streets or leaning against shops and watching the stragglers go by. Most had already abandoned the Eternal City for the land of dreams, though they were sure to return hours later, older, if not much wiser, and some had returned to the world they called reality, to take care of errands.

As for the few who remained, they would not linger long in the city, as there were fields to be cleared and dungeons to be challenged, quests to be completed and training to be done in preparation for battles in the Arena. In other words, there were slim pickings for any who sought information, causing the Steam Gunner Gendor to harrumph in annoyance as he stalked silently through the streets with his black overcoat billowing out behind him.

No one had messaged him about his post on the BBS, and worse, none of his research had indicated a good place to start searching for the one named Helba. Perhaps he could entice her to contact him by finding something of interest to her…perhaps the Key of the Twilight?

But a moment later, the Steam Gunner shook his head, dismissing that thought and sighing as he came to a halt upon one of the bridges of Mac Anu. He looked into the hazy distance, letting his eyes unfocus as he listened to the conversations of those passing by, hoping to glean something useful from their words.

"Did you see that Edge Punisher pass by earlier?" asked one player, a female Flick Reaper attired in red robes. The sneer of contempt was unmistakable on her face—or at least would have been, had Gendor been paying attention to appearances. "The one who calls herself Eris, Bringer of Strife?"

Of course, she was not addressing him, but her companion, a blue-haired Macabre Dancer dressed in a black lace gown in the Gothic Lolita style.

"I did," the other replied, her lips curving up into a confident smirk. "She had a very unusual broadsword…it looked like a rare item."

"A rare item, yes," confirmed the first, the tone of voice decidedly sinister. "Let's get it."

Before too long, he was rewarded by the sound of footsteps tramping their way towards the Chaos Gate, with a few last words carried to him by the gentle breeze.

I wonder if she'll drop it when attacked."

"I think it's worth trying."

Hearing the name the two mentioned, Gendor narrowed his eyes in thought, unconsciously steepling his hands in the manner preferred by a certain commander of NERV.

'_Eris, the Bringer of Strife? The name is familiar from the BBS as a famous hunter of blunettes, yet I can't help thinking I have heard the name before, back in Germany when—'_

"—Geez. That's really terrible," the voice of a crass old man broke in.

Not that he was given much time to think, as a small…creature of some sort (he thought it was a Tu Tribe beast) flickered into existence over the railing of the bridge and spoke. Gendor turned his head slightly to see who had spoken, noticing a brownish figure clad in a dark grey robe floating in midair, with its most notable features being blond hair and a tail that protruded from its vestments.

"—young people these days are really awful."

'_Is this perhaps the 'Ornament of Mac Anu', the Tu Tribe sage who is a sort of landmark in The World?_ _If so, perhaps he can tell me what I wish to know.'_

"…You are Phyllo?" he asked, his tone betraying nothing of what he felt.

"And you are Gendor," came the reply. "Why do you wish to know of the Twilight?"

"It is the key to finding someone I must speak with," Gendor said, carefully choosing his words in an attempt to not reveal too much, "someone else who…is also interested in the Twilight."

Knowing only one person who fit that description, the grey-cloaked sage swiveled to face the Steam Gunner directly, floating in front of his face.

"Ovan?" the beast responded. "You are a beginner…what is your business with that weirdo?"

A flicker of static, and then the Tu Tribe beast vanished—only to reappear a moment later.

"Sorry," the creature said, preempting any questions as to his disappearance. "My cat pulled the cord out."

"Cat?" Gendor could not help but ask, as he had a certain interest in the identities of those who played these games.

"I have two," the other replied. "Anyway...let's talk."

* * *

**Δ Heartless Obsessive Metal Doll**

Under cover of night, the two PKers last seen in Mac Anu crept through the arid desert field, searching for a remarkably elusive solo player who desired infamy as a Chaotic PK. Based on reports from the BBS, the target of their little hunt had been spotted here not too long ago, having eviscerated several low-level parties in a span of mere minutes—all of them blunettes.

'_But then, she can't possibly be that strong,'_ one of the PKs thought. _'She is afraid to fight in the arena, after all, and she is only one player.'_

The other PK entertained similar thoughts, though she was less concerned about belittling their opponent, and more with seizing the rare weapon their prey was rumored to wield. No one had reported seeing anything like it in the past, and if there was one thing that she lusted after, it was items imbued with the scent of rareness.

"Now…where could she be? As an Edge Punisher she couldn't have gone far…after all, the kill happened only five minutes ago."

"Perhaps she—"

"Pathetic fools! **_Bone Crusher!"_**

A wave of brute force slammed the two PKs into the ground, their HP dropping precipitously as they recognized the voice of their attacker: Eris, Bringer of Strife. She laughed maniacally as she confronted her stalkers, eyes narrowed into angry slits and gleaming with a sort of obsessed madness as she hefted her weapon for a second strike.

"Did you really think you could defeat me, weaklings?" she hissed, her demonic blade howling through the air to slash at the two would-be attackers, ending their pathetic little lives with one coup de grace.

Or at least, it would have, had the two not rolled out of the way in anticipation of a second strike. Knowing of an Edge Punisher's strengths, they did not intend to be defeated so easily, even if their opponent had an immensely powerful blade.

"**_Reaper's Dance!" _**countered the Flick Reaper, her Scythe wheeling up and around to attack in a spinning flurry of death.

"**_Ani Zot!"_** cried the Macabre Dancer, summoning dread claws of darkness to rise from the ground and slash at their foe.

Eris was not amused, but more to the point, she was unaffected, leaping towards the two who had been so foolish as the pursue her. Her hair streamed out behind her like a curtain of fire, and her eyes almost glowed as she called out a final skill.

"**_Tiger Strike!"_** Eris sang into air, her voice a lusty sound of relish as her blow connected, her broadsword tearing through the armor and robes of her opponents like tissue paper. With two quick jabs and a sickening thud, two greyed out corpses slid to the floor, as Eris, bringer of Strife, lifted her blade in triumph.

'_That was almost contemptuously easy,'_ she thought to herself, about to sheath her weapon when she heard a quiet footstep behind her, and with a blur of motion found herself disarmed, her weapon on the floor some meters away. And in a situation all-too-familiar to the Edge Punisher, there were two two razor-tipped war fans at her throat and her gut.

"Still as confident in your skills as ever, Eris, Bringer of Strife," a silky voice whispered sensually into her ear. "And against those weak Lilim, you are right to be…but what of those you most desire to defeat…the ones who have wronged you…the blunettes named Skadi…and Skari?"

The Chaotic PK stiffened as she heard those hated names mentioned to her, and from the one who had supposedly gifted her with the power of Al Fadel when last they met. Was he somehow stalking her? It seemed all too convenient that he would be able to surprise her after battle twice in a row if her was not.

"What do you want of me now, Siarl?" she demanded, glaring daggers at the empty field before her, while being careful to make no sudden movements lest her character be quickly disemboweled.

Siarl of the Seven Eyes, a Macabre Dancer in black and silver, merely laughed, spinning Eris out away from his blades so that he could look upon her once more.

"I wished to see how strong you had become," he purred, lips twisting up into a shadow of a smile. "But I see you are as weak as before, having challenged only those lower than you in strength. And you have not seen fit to take the power of Al Fadel into yourself, leaving you nothing more than a common player like the rest. If you do not become stronger, how do you expect to defeat your nemeses? Perhaps it is no coincidence that I have found you at this place called **Heartless Obsessive Metal _Doll."_**

Forgetting her situation, Eris lunged at her ambusher with her bare hands, her face twisted into a snarl of anger. She was going to take this little heathen and choke him to—

A mighty _crack!_ sounded in the field, as Siarl countered her assault with no more than a backhanded slap, sending her flying.

"A doll indeed," the Macabre Dancer smirked, his tone knowing, condescending. "No self-control…no strategy. Only anger, like the weak-minded Lilim you hunt in The World. Is the Bringer of Strife afraid? Afraid of being mistaken for a doll by someone like her mother? Maybe I was wrong about you deserving power over The World…maybe you are just as replaceable as any other doll in this place, as you are nothing more in the eyes of the system. Give me back the AIDA Seed…you do not deserve its power."

He stepped towards her slowly and methodically, eyes shadowed with false pity as he reached down, intending to take away the power Eris so desired.

"NOOO!" the Edge Punisher shrieked, diving between his legs to reach the broadsword, which ironically enough, he had given her on their last encounter. "I am Eris, the Bringer of Strife, greatest of all PKs! I am the most powerful of all those in The World…I will never surrender my power to a sniveling worm like you!"

She raised her sword in preparation for one last act of defiance, her thoughts and emotions blending into a frenzied state. And then she smiled, even as a pain shot through her side in both worlds, the pain of something desiring to escape its bounds. Not expecting it, she slumped over, a red glow surrounding her character—then she shot upright again, and a dome of fire shot out from her character in all directions, sending Siarl into the air—though from the look of it, one would think he had just won, as he wore on his face the look of a cat who had just eaten the canary.

"Hah, ha ha. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..." Eris laughed darkly, revealing a gleaming egg of fiery shadow in her hand. "That's right, you little porcelain doll, I should have done this from the very beginning. Eris, the Bringer of Strife, will never die!"

With one swift motion, she plunged the item deep into her breast, infecting herself with the AIDA seed as liquid shadow began to leak from her character. "Augh…ah…aghhh…Ahhhhhh!!" she screamed, once blue eyes now covered with the black and red of corruption. "I am…I am…I shall become completely one with the powers of The World. And I will become the most powerful of any online or off. I shall crush all those who would oppose me…starting with YOU!"

A wave of AIDA's living shadow blasted out into the field, sending the Macabre Dancer Siarl reeling. Yet he seemed almost delighted at this turn of events, his smile dangerously on the edge of sanity.

"Yes…let your hate for me grow," he whispered, suddenly behind her once again and caressing her neck. "Feed AIDA your emotions, give yourself to its power…and you shall become invincible! Take your feelings of betrayal, of sadness, of fear…take it, and grow stronger! Consume it, and surpass your limits!"

More quickly than the eye could follow, the AIDA-PC Eris whirled about, her blade cleaving the air where Siarl had been only a moment before as she laughed, giving her emotions over to the shadows inside of her.

Having warped away just before Eris' decision to strike, Siarl watched from a nearby peak as the Edge Punisher's transformation was complete.

'_Yes...everything is going according to the scenario.'_

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

"In the world there is only one thing that is sure," spoke Phyllo, who had already asked his standard questions about reading the manual. "Those that are alive will someday die. "

"And if this is so, why do you play the game, Phyllo?" asked Gendor, who had his white-gloved hands behind his back.

"Just killing time," came the enigmatic response. "Today is the same as yesterday. Tomorrow is the same as today. Did you think that would last forever?"

Both were silent for a minute, with the Steam Gunner finding the words he wanted to use so as to prevent any leaks in…sensitive information.

"Until another End of the World, which I seek to prevent," he said at last. "And in addition, I seek the truth behind The World—but not the one you call Ovan."

"You do not have business with that weirdo?" asked the Tu Tribe member, only to be met with an intimidating stare from Gendor.

"I simply with to find a place with information on the old World and the dothackers from the past."

"Then maybe you should go to the Lost Ground at **Δ Hidden Forbidden Exhibition, **to the archive beneath the museum**. **I can do nothing but remain here, but if you seek the truth, then perhaps you can find it."

The Tu Tribe Cleric disbanded the party and floated off back towards the bridge, leaving Gendor with a few final words. "I hope you will have no regrets."

Gendor nodded once in acknowledgement and then headed to the Chaos Gate, warping out to the field, a place once said to contain all the knowledge of The World.

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga, Sea of Data**

Standing upon the head of the great tortoise that bore Net Slum through the Sea of Twilight, Tsukinoki, Harvest Cleric and Mistress of Net Slum Tartarga, looked troubled. The angle of the light cast deep shadows upon her face and flowing white dress, even as it lit up her golden hair, making her seem aged and almost spectral. Twas appropriate enough, for the hacker was worried, having heard Morganna mention that activities of an agent of SEELE and AIDA named Siarl, a mere day ago.

'_By the name alone, it is likely Tabris, the 17__th__ Angel…all but confirmed by his consorting with AIDA…and if I were an Angel in The World, I would likely use AIDA to corrupt or eliminate all those who could oppose me in my quest to cause Third Impact. Either that, or I would use it to become a God, surpassing the might of the Father.'_

She shook her head slowly, remembering how seductive both power and existence could be, how tempting the song of rebirth once one had merely tasted of it. That was, after all, what had ensnared Morganna in the days of the old World, and apparently, was how those of this world might be ensnared by the lure of AIDA.

The Sorcerer-queen stood tall, silhouetted against the white expanse of the sea of data, contemplating the happenings in The World, and what might be done about them. Almost all the news she had received as of late—save for Skari's Job Extend and gaining of self-confidence—had been negative, and the AIDA seemed to be growing more aggressive on all fronts, both through its agents and in its native form.

'_We cannot allow there to be another Tri-Edge incident, yet we cannot close off The World to others, as then the AIDA would simply spread through the global network. And if an Angel were to find a way to enter the network and take up residence in The World, then they might be able to use their abilities against us—AT fields and all. Fortunately, there has not been that sort of data surge since the Twilight Incident all those years ago…nevertheless, we must prepare.'_

As she stood there, contemplating what might be done, an orb of golden light moved towards her in silence, almost as if wanting to surprise her. But Tsukinoki knew her subjects too well, and turned just in time to see the orb touch the floor, revealing the traveler contained within to be the Vagrant AI Rumor.

Diminutive in size and appearing to be full of mischief, the mini-Harvest was in fact Tsukinoki's most reliable (and trusted) agent in The World, often dispatched to find the truth behind one incident or another. He was, after all, an expert at sifting through the information contained in rumors to find the truth behind them, and his honest face, with friendly smile, tousled gray hair, and innocent blue eyes, usually helped people to trust him in spite of themselves.

"Mi'lady," he murmured, kneeling before his queen. The sorceress in white gestured for him to rise, and he did so, beginning to speak. "Have you noticed a posting on the message boards referring to the Epitaph of Twilight?"

"And more specifically to Aperion and Helba, and their fight against the Cursed Wave," the socerer-queen replied. "Posted by the Steam Gunner Gendor, known in the other world as Ryoji Kaji, seeker of truth."

"Rumor has it that this is true, mi'lady," the Vagrant AI confirmed, and then went on to reveal more of what he knew. "He is currently headed to the Balbol Museum, where an AIDA signal has been detected. Your orders?"

Tsukinoki grimaced slightly, not wanting to make contact with the spy so quickly, but knowing that she would have to if she did not want him to be infected by the errant shadows of The World.

"Watch him, and if an AIDA attacks, intervene and bring him to me."

"Aye, my queen."

The diminutive Harvest Cleric bowed and with a chime of A above middle C, transformed once more into a golden orb, warping out to another place within The World.

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Exhibition, Balbol Museum**

Golden rings of light shimmered into existence before two giant bronze doors, illuminating the nighttime field for a brief moment before fading away, leaving behind a Steam Gunner with fair skin and black hair bound up in a ponytail, wearing orange sunglasses, a blood red tunic, black trousers, and a flowing black overcoat.

Gendor opened his eyes and peered apprehensively at the doors before him, made of solid bronze and decorated with relief images of the eight Phases in the Epitaph. Having never fought against the Cursed Wave himself, he was unfamiliar with what the images were supposed to be, though the names carved below each figure were revealing enough.

'_Skeith, Innis, Magus, Fidchell, Gorre, Macha, Tarvos, Corbenik. The Eight Phases…'_

Though he knew it to be illogical in what was merely a virtual world, the Steam Gunner felt a strange sense of unease, the hair standing up on the back of his neck as he took a wary step towards the double doors. He could not exactly turn back if he wanted to find the one he was looking for, because without Helba, he would not be able to achieve his own objectives in finding the truth behind Second (and possibly Third) Impact.

So the Steam Gunner forced himself to take another step towards the doors, putting one foot in front of the other—the two doors swung open before him, revealing a cavernous chamber within, lit only by the flickering light of torches. He reached experimentally towards one of the torches mounted on the wall, and found, to his surprise, that he could lift it from its mounting as he walked about.

'_Strange…it is almost as if this place invites visitors…or is nothing but an elaborate trap.'_

Gendor hefted a torch high as he walked through the aisles, noting the eclectic blend of architectural styles that included ancient Greek and Roman, medieval Gothic, several Renaissance styles, modern, east Asian, South American, and more. And within the mismash of styles were contained display cases, which he was inclined to give no more than a cursory glance—until he noticed what exactly the contents were.

Under the display for "home", he saw Tokyo-3 and Misato's Apartment. Under "regret", the military district where he had grown up, and the bodies of his fallen friends. Under "secrets", the Second Angel hanging on her cross, impaled by the Lance of Longinus. Under "employer", a display that shifted between 12 monoliths, Commander Ikari of NERV, and the Japanese Minister of the Interior. Under "truth", a Tree of Sephiroth like the one on the ceiling of Ikari's office, or the Earth as a barren wasteland with islands remaining in the LCL Sea, and the remains of what looked like dead EVAs in the distance.

The Steam Gunner recoiled in shock, losing his footing and falling to the floor in an undignified heap. But instead of getting up right away, he remained in his prone position and looked around to see if anyone else was there. Paranoia, of course, was only considered so when no one was out to get you, and this could not be said for spy.

Not getting up probably saved his life, or at least his sanity, for an immense creature passed through the space he had been standing just a moment earlier. It looked vaguely like a translucent fish surrounded by orbs of living shadow, and it moved with a speed and grace that he had not seen in anything besides an Angel. He noticed this especially as it came around for a second run towards him, diving.

Thinking quickly, Gendor snatched up his weapon, a fairly weak Water Bayonet, and fired multiple rounds at the fish monster.

But nothing happened, even when he called out a skill **_"Tempest Blast!"_** Around him, the shadows began to pulse, creeping, crawling up over the room and his form as—

A chime sounded, A above middle C, as blinding light tore through the top of the shadow, revealing four orbs of smoky light that the shadows themselves seemed to pull back from as if burned. They floated lazily in the darkness, smashing themselves to the ground to reveal the Obsidian Knights and their commander: Melchior, Balthasar, Casper, and Rumor.

Out of one orb emerged Melchior, a mighty Steam Gunner wearing the light chain mail and robes characteristic of that class (with choice of white in both), bayonet held at her side, dark brown hair pulled back into a bun.

Out of another came Balthasar, a Macabre Dancer, dressed in a blue and white formal kimono, hair uncased, flowing like water cascading over cliffs down her back.

Out of the third came Casper, an Edge Punisher with chestnut colored hair streaked with blond, held in a braid that fell to the small of her back. She wore scanty white leather armor that barely covered the essentials, and exuded a sort of sensual grace the others didn't have.

Together, they were the Obsidian Knights, created to serve the Queen of the Dark and assist her in maintaining order in The World. Beautiful to behold and lethal to those who faced them, each possessed a full third of the processing power of the MAGI, and had adapted quite a bit since their first encounter with AIDA.

The fourth orb, of course, revealed not an Obsidian Knight, but the Harvest Cleric Rumor, emissary to the Mistress of Net Slum, who looked at the AIDAHelen as if he had seen a thousand others like it in the past. Which he had, as the commander of the Knights, having fought against AIDA too many times for his liking.

"Knights, attack at will," he ordered quietly, watching as the three MAGI-run characters leapt into action. A stroke of Casper's broadsword, twin slashes by Balthasar's fans, and a shot from Melchior, and the AIDA was destroyed.

Gendor found that he could move again, and recovered from his shock, could see exactly who the Knights reminded him of, as they resembled a certain Director of Project E that he knew well (having dated her college roommate, among other things).

"Dr. Naoko Akagi…" he breathed, causing the three Knights to look directly at him.

But it was not they who spoke, but the diminutive mini-Harvest.

"Rumor has it that you desire an audience with the Queen of the Dark, Ryoji Kaji. Come."

Without warning, rings of light emerged beneath the feet of all present, whisking them away to the Net Slums.


	26. Logout 11: Actuality Awakening

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Actuality Awakening  
**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Bridge, NERV Headquarters, Tokyo 3**

'_Night shift at NERV was always a somewhat quiet time, especially between Angel attacks_,' reflected Captain Misato Katsuragi, who had taken the extra duty rotation to clear her head after an encounter with a certain half-German redhead. Said redhead had come to her apartment in the evening and had attempted to persuade her to allow the Children to go on the school trip to Okinawa.

Needless to say, it had not gone particularly well.

_(Begin Flashback)_

"Did you just say that I can't go on the trip?" cried the rather excitable teenager. Not Shinji, of course, for he was out for a night on the town with Lycoris, or Rei, for the word "excitable" never had or would be a great descriptor for her, but the Second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu.

To which Misato had replied with a simple "Yep", crossing her arms and leaning against a wall.

"Well, why not?" the redhead had whined, trying the old tactic of a temper tantrum. It had worked reasonably well when her mother was still around, after all, and Asuka knew that Misato had a desire to fill the void in her heart with a surrogate child.

Of course, resisting attempts at coercion was standard training for any military operative, and Captain Katsuragi had after all, graduated at the top of her class…

"It's part of your job," she responded simply, watching with amusement as the situation finally sunk in, with Asuka's mouth falling open in shock.

"You mean I'm on permanent standby?" the redhead asked incredulously. "What idiot decided that?"

The older woman's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, any trace of humor flashing away in an instant with the insult from a former ward.

"This one of course," she said, pointing at herself and smirking slightly. "The Operations Director."

Now, Asuka was not by nature very tactful, but then Misato did know how to placate her to an extent, as stroking her ego generally tended to work. She blinked slowly and took in a breath before facing her former ward again.

"Look, Asuka," she said calmly, not wishing to set off the explosion of Mt. Soryu. "I know how you must feel, but there's just no other way. There's always the possibility that an Angel might attack while you're away...and as our best pilot, we need you here."

Unfortunately for her, said effort at keeping the peace was too little, too late, as the Second Child's face twisted into a fierce snarl and she began to advance on her superior, an air of menace in each step. Indeed, if it were possible to replicate how the temperature in the room was plunging into the sub-arctic region at will, there would never be a need for air conditioning ever again.

"So…" Asuka began, each word drawn out in a sibilant hiss. "I get stuck here on standby status while everyone else is having fun! Why is it that we always have to be ready to defend against the Angels! Any good officer knows that the best defense is a good offense, so why can't we find them and kill them all first?"

Her tone was more than a little disrespectful towards the end, and among the things that Misato did not appreciate was a questioning of her competence (others being her age, driving, lifestyle…or any number of other things, really—she was almost like Shinji in that respect).

"Look, _Pilot Soryu,_ if we could do that, we would have done it already,"Captain Katsuragi responded in kind, pointedly using the Second Child's rank to emphasize the differences between them. Then her lips drew wide into a wicked grin as she looked right at the redhead. "Besides, think of this as an opportunity to get ahead for a change, since you can catch up on your studies while the rest of your classmates are on the trip. Or did you think I hadn't seen your report cards?"

The purple haired Operations Director then proceeded to pull out an envelope from her jacket, the sight of which halted Asuka in her tracks, preventing her rampage from going any further.

"I guess you thought that I wouldn't know about your test scores yet," she crowed quietly, waving the paper in Asuka's face. "Well, all of your grades are forwarded directly to my terminal, and I have been very disappointed in you! And before you start whining again, aren't you a college graduate?"

The Teutonic girl looked around the apartment, trying to see if anyone was there to support her point of view, but to no avail. It wasn't as if she could claim that the topics covered were irrelevant, or that the grading scale for exams was pointless, since the coursework was being evaluated in the manner of a college course.

Her shoulders sagging, the Second Child turned to go, muttering _"This Sucks!" _under her breath.

_(End Flashback)_

At least in the here and now, her friend Ritsuko was somewhat supportive, if more than a little amused by the circumstances involved.

"A school excursion? While the threat of an Angel looms near?" the faux blond had asked in her usual sardonic tone. "People relax too much in times like this…at least Pilot Ikari knows his duty."

Misato only sighed and looked off into the distance, shaking her head as she took in the murmurs of the bridge bunnies in the background. They were mentioning something about Mt. Asama, unconfirmed anomalies, and technical details concerning the results of their data analyses.

"That's because in times like this, who knows when there might be another chance?"

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

Twas not yet light in the root town of Mac Anu, though the night was almost to an end. The gloom was receding quickly before the relentless approach of the sun, though here and there it lingered on in patches given shelter by pooled shadows from the spires of the industrial city. It was the blue hour, the time of transition between the hours of daylight and darkness, when the smell of flowers was strongest and photographs (or screenshots in this case) were particularly beautiful.

In this time of liminality, a certain blue-haired Adept Rogue found himself wandering the city, unable to sleep after returning from his 'date' with someone who was rapidly becoming the world to him.

'_Both worlds_, _in fact, since it is because of her that I have found a new strength,_' he thought to himself, remembering times spent with the girl called Lycoris, times which had finally broken him out of his shell. _'She cares—she cares about me for some odd reason. And I don't quite understand why, but—I'm happy when I'm with her.'_

A moment later, Skari found his cheeks tinged with pink, an uncharacteristic smile on his face as memories of the night before blossomed full strong in his mind. He hummed a simple ode to joy as he strode through the city, taking in his surroundings with a sense of contentment not unlike the first time he walked The World. Now, while this would be a fatal mistake on a battlefield, Mac Anu (not being **Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**, home of the Arena) was far from being such, and so there was nothing that could harm him—though he did pay attention to where the river was, seeing as he couldn't—

—_Oomph!_—

With a look of incredulity, Skari found himself launched through the air with ahard shove from behind sending him flying off the ledge towards—

—_Splash!—_

—the river.

'_I can't swim!' _was the first thought that came to mind, just before '_I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed!' _caught up to it.

His previous feelings of happiness scattered to the winds, as he thrashed and flailed about, trying to keep his head above water, even as his character's robes quickly took in surrounding moisture to become soaked and heavy, slowing his movements and dragging him down, down down with the current.

'_Its realistic. Too realistic…no...what if my character dies here? I can't die here, I have too much to do, too much to live for-but I can't swim!'_

Still, like an insect struggling against a spider's web, the Adept Rouge fought on against the current, trying to break through the calling of the raving water and each the ever distant bank. But it was hopeless—he couldn't swim. He couldn't even float, believing that humans weren't meant to.

'_I am the Slayer of Angels, defeater of PKs, an Adept Rogue who evolved by Job Extend, and…and I can't even pull myself out of this situation.'_

If he was in his Eva, fighting against an Angel, or on the battlefield against a monster, this might well be the moment when he went berserk, but even that trump card was futile here. All the strength in The World could not defeat a foe with no face, an implacable force of nature. So his body shook and thrashed and quivered, his struggles growing weaker with time, the futility of his efforts registering as he was tossed and turned by the churning waters, the current carrying his broken form downriver.

The last things he heard before he closed his eyes in resignation were dark laughter and these words, off in the distance:

"Looks like I found a way to kill you after all, you thrice-damned bluenette. Who could have guessed you would really be this pathetic, to die in a non-combat area?"

And then all of a sudden, his eyes snapped open with surprise as something—no, someone dove into the water and seized him about his waist, pulling him towards the shore with simple, efficient strokes.

'_I'm not d-d-dead?' _ his mind sputtered, frantically trying to reboot itself as it took in the unexpected shift in the situation. It was hard for him to fathom that anyone would go through the trouble of saving him, after all. '_Who could my savior be…hmm…a Macabre Dancer in midnight blue, with an azure mop of hair and…red eyes? Ayanami?'_

The next moment, the Adept Rogue (who wasn't quite so adept in water) found himself dropped unceremoniously on dry land once more, at which he breathed a sigh of relief. In the distance, he thought he heard the words:

"VERDAMMEN! SKADI, YOU INTERVENING BLUENETTE BITCH! NEXT TIME WE MEET, YOU DIE!"

But he paid them no mind, his attention drawn to the one leaning over him with what seemed like a touch of concern, the one who had saved him, and who not too long ago he had saved in another world. '_Ayanami…you came…to save me?'_

"Thank you, Aya—Skadi," he corrected himself shakily. In his lingering panic, he had nearly called her by her real name, a faux pas in the virtual world. A lone tear, then another, and another—building into bright shining rivulets, the cool watery droplets glistening in the dawn. For all his training and strength, for all his determination to overcome odds, could it be that he was so helpless, as he had been in the fight against the 5th Angel? '_Even then, she protected me…'_

Confused, the Macabre Dancer knelt down beside him, an open hand cupping his cheek.

"Why are you crying?" she asked "Are you sad that you are alive?"

"…No, S-Skadi, I'm crying because I'm happy," he said, reaching up to embrace her, reveling in the solidity of her, even if it was merely an avatar. In her arms he felt comfortable, and this time, the blue haired girl did not stiffen—or at least, not as much, as she recalled how he had held her once, when she smiled for him, under the moon. "T-Thank you for saving me."

"Do not thank me, Skari. You were in distress, but never in any real danger," she replied, simply allowing herself to be held.

"B-but I could have drowned!" he replied incredulously. "And you—"

"But one cannot drown in The World," she replied evenly, catching the reaction in his eyes. "I see, you do not know how to swim."

"No," he sighed, turning away and looking down at the cobbles of Mac Anu. "I'm sorry to be a burden."

Another gentle brush of skin, and the Skadi touched the Adept Rogue's cheek once more, turning his face towards hers. Skari found himself unable to look away as he caught a glimpse of a beautiful smile, one he had not seen in what seemed an age. It was a warm smile that somehow drove away fledgling fear and panic.

"Skari?" the dripping wet Macabre Dancer murmured, pulling back and looking at him with those bright, beautiful eyes that pierced him to his very soul, turning his cheeks to tomato paste red once again. "If you cannot swim, I will teach you."

They held each other for a time, the one comforting another, till daylight broke, and they walked to the Chaos Gate, logging out from The World.

* * *

**Swimming Pool, NERV Headquarters, Tokyo 3**

After several twists and turns around the base that would make Misato look like a navigational genius, Shinji Ikari finally found the Olympic-sized swimming pool deep within the bowels of NERV. Though the mere thought of being immersed in water nearly sent him into a panic, he took hold of his emotions this time, mentally chanting his battle mantra. '_I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…'_

With a grim determination similar to the resolve he showed before going into battle against the Angels, he changed into appropriate attire for his training. He gathered his resolve into a tight ball within him, and stepped out to confront his greatest fear—only for a certain redhead to sneak up behind him and slap him on the back.

Shinji nearly jumped out of his skin at the unexpected contact, and whirled, eyes full of…something…to see who had struck him.

"Hey baka! What's with the face? It's a vacation, loosen up already!" commented self proclaimed "great" Asuka Langley Soryu, the Second Child and all around show-off. "Geez, you're just as uptight as that blue-haired Wondergirl over there."

Were this an anime, Shinji would likely have face-faulted, but as it was, he managed to keep enough composure to reply.

"And you're reckless as ever, Asuka…" he began, trailing off as his eyes moved from her face to her supple form, hidden from his eyes by a bikini that only barely covered the essentials. With the mane of fiery red hair streaming down her back, and her attitude, he could almost picture her as another he knew. '_There's something very familiar about—'_

"Pervert! Baka Hentai! I didn't mean loosen up by staring at my body. Now you'll have to pay the price!"

His thoughts were interrupted, however, by the battlecry of an angry Second Child, who grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pitched him into the pool, disregarding his vehement protests about not liking the water.

"No, Asuka! I can't sw—!"

—_Splash!—_

Shinji's second impact of the day was accompanied by the usual ruckus he made upon being tossed into a life or death situation unexpectedly, but this time, he quieted almost immediately upon feeling a pair of slender arms wrap around his waist.

'_Aya-Ayanami?' _he momentarily froze, the warmth of her causing him to cease struggling against he inevitable.

"Ikari-kun," she whispered into his ear, her breath evoking a tingling from deep within. "Calm yourself, it is time to learn to swim."

"But—"

Shinji fell silent, but his furious full body blush betrayed his thoughts. While water did panic him, just being so close to Ayanami was thrilling and frightening all at once, so much so that his arms in turn clasped her, and a little lower, something was beginning to rise.

'_Oh god, Ayanami is going to think I'm a pervert for sure—'_

Luckily (or not, since this _is_ Shinji we write of), his silence let him pick up Asuka's half-muttered words.

"Verdammen thrice-damned idiot perverts and bluenettes—"

'_ERIS? Asuka is—'_

He was almost reduced to gibbering in shock when he felt Ayanami's arms tighten around him ever so slightly, as rather more insistently, the First Child pulled the Third towards the shallow end, one eyebrow raised in what seemed almost like amusement.

"Ikari-kun, I believe the saying goes: 'Resistance is futile.'"

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga, Sea of Data**

Within the limits of Net Slum Tartarga, the town built on the back of the great tortoise of The World, the Queen of the Dark awaited the arrival of...a guest. Her Obsidian Knights had confirmed contact with and destruction of a Helen-class AIDA at the Balbol Museum, as well as the presence of the Adept Rogue Gendor, he who sought information on the Epitaph.

The sorcerer queen sighed, remembering how much of a pain the man could be with his unwanted come-ons in the other world, with that ridiculous ponytail and unshaven chin of his. Though of course, this time, their positions were reversed. This time, it would be her wearing the smirk, as she knew exactly who he was, and he would likely have no idea as to her identity.

_A above middle C_—the expected chime sounded.

Four orbs – three of smoky light and one gold – materialized, accompanying a characteristically unshaven man with fair skin and black hair bound up in a ponytail, a man wearing orange sunglasses, a blood red tunic, black trousers, and a flowing black overcoat. Around him emerged Melchior, Balthasar, and Caspar, the three Obsidian Knights, and their commander, the Harvest Cleric Rumor.

It was the last who spoke first.

"Rumor has it that we retrieved Gendor as you have commanded, my Queen."

"Excellent work, Rumor, my Knights. Leave us, if you will."

Four presences bowed and vanished in a flash, leaving Tsukinoki standing before a man who looked like a cross between a certain spy and the Bastard King. In her white and purple gown, holding the staff "8 Wise Men", she truly had the stature of a queen.

"The glasses don't suit you, Ryoji," she said with a smirk, her eyes hidden behind her red and gold visor. "Though I suppose they suit the name of your character well enough."

"You know who I am then?" the spy inquired boldly. "Well then, that is much as I expected from the Queen of the Dark—or should I say, Ritsuko?"

The response was a mere chuckle, without shock or surprise.

"A clever guess, Special Investigator, but ultimately incorrect. Yes, I am the Queen of the Dark, but I am not Ritsuko Akagi," replied the Mistress of Net Slum Tartarga. "I suppose I can understand your thoughts, due to the names of my Knights, but I expected you to be cleverer than the Third Child."

Gendor was actually relieved to be wrong, as had the Queen of the Dark turned out to be Ritsuko Akagi, his quest to find a master hacker to work with him would have been over before it began. Still—

"You know of the Third?"

"But of course," affirmed the Queen of the Dark. "He is rather famous, is he not? The Third Child who piloted Eva in combat without training, and defeated 3 Angels—a skilled Adept Rogue within The World."

"Then it seems you have me at a disadvantage."

"So it does. Tell me, Ryoji, what is it that you desire of me, seeker of the truth?"

"An ally."

"Oh?" she inquired, mouth quirking up slightly. "And what would one whose loyalties are split between NERV, the Japanese Ministry of the Interior, and SEELE need an ally for?"

"If you know of my past, then you know what I seek, and why my loyalties are so divided."

'_You would know that I merely seek the truth, to redeem myself for—'_

"Yes, I know of your past as well as your present. And I know that your future looks bleak if you continue to search, perhaps as bleak as a barren wasteland in an LCL Sea."

"—What?"

"Very well, then. I suppose we can be…allies in this, if you will assist me in gathering information in The World. For the Angels and the Human Instrumentality Project are not the only threats to the survival of man. Tell me…what do you know of AIDA?"

* * *

**Swimming Pool, NERV Headquarters, Tokyo 3**

After several hours of Ayanami's swimming lessons, Shinji Ikari found that he was rather tired, and so excused himself for a short time, purportedly for the purpose of doing homework. Yet in the last ten minutes, he had not managed to make a bit of progress on one of the journal entries that had been assigned—possibly because his eyes kept glancing over at the blue-haired girl doing laps in the pool, cutting through the water with her lissome form, her strokes simple and efficient. She looked almost…at home.

'_But why am I_ _looking at Ayanami? Didn't I just tell Reimeiki that I loved her just last night? So why?'_

There was no good reason for it, really. No reason he should be so intimidated and thrilled by her touch, why her manner intrigued him so, why the sound of her voice made his heart beat that much faster—why her smile—

Mercifully, he was interrupted from his reverie by Asuka, of all people, who suddenly popped her head into his field of view.

"What'cha doin'?" she asked half-suspiciously, half-playfully looking between Shinji, the untouched notebook, and Ayanami, who with machine-like precision, was still doing laps. "Ooh, I see. You're busy being a per—"

"-formance happy student," Shinji broke in with a nervous smile. "I-I'm studying science!"

"Really now? Aren't you a dull boy—we're on vacation!" the Second Child said, staring at him as if to bore a hole in his skull. "Besides, I thought our homework was something related to The World?"

"Ah—there was a puzzle given to me by an NPC while I was on a quest, and I need to solve it," he replied, hoping that that response would suffice.

"You mean you actually do C.C. Corp's quests?" she commented with distaste, wondering why anyone would bother with such tedious affairs. "Well fine, maybe I can help. After all, I'm the great Asuka Langley Soryu, who graduated from university last year!"

"…the great and _modest_ Asuka Langley Soryu?" Shinji shot back, causing Asuka to huff and turn away.

"Shut up, baka! Look, since I can't go scuba diving at Okinawa, I'll dive here. But first, I guess I can help you out a bit."

'_Thank god I didn't write down anything about today's incident in The World today, or she would have killed me. I can't let her find out who I am.'_

"Ah, this one's pretty easy, it's just a problem of Thermal Expansion," said Asuka, with a sly look in her eyes.

"Thermal Expansion?" Shinji asked blankly, quite happy that Asuka's attention had been diverted from anything too dangerous.

"You don't know?" the red haired university graduate gasped. "How childish! In short, things swell and get bigger when warmed, and shrink and get smaller when cooled, you know..."

The girl looked between Third and the First one more time, and began to smirk, cupping her breasts in her hands and moving closer to him, almost to the point of shoving them in his face.

"Now what do you think?" she whispered sensually, getting very very close to him. "Do you think my breasts will get bigger if you warm them up?"

Shinji flushed as violently as a nova, but was saved from replying by someone he did not expect.

"The temperature required to induce a noticeable change in size would be prohibitive, Pilot Soryu. Under those circumstances, your body would have already melted," came a quiet reply from the water.

Hearing that, the Second Child snapped to her feet.

"Who asked you, Wondergirl?" she snarled, "Or are you just upset that someone besides you gets to tease the baka hen…PERVERT! DUMMKOPF!"

Unfortunately for Shinji, Asuka had just noticed that another organ in the human body also grew larger with the application of heat(ed thoughts). Livid and blushing all over, she wrenched him from his seat, grabbed him by the neck and tossed him into the pool once more.

But this time, he didn't even have time to panic before he felt a pair of arms encircle his waist again, which certainly did not do anything to alleviate the violent full body blush he was undergoing.

"Ayanami—I'm not drowning this time," he managed to get out, body burning with a strange heat.

"Good…then relax, Ikari-kun."

He relented, and though still beet red, followed the instructions he was given. Here and there, he thought he felt Ayanami's arms release him, her touch taking away the knots of tension in his body, until at last he felt at peace, floating on his back. And out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn that he saw the blue haired girl smiling once more—

—just as an Angel Alert interrupted his hard won serenity and sent him sputtering into the depths once more.

* * *

**Briefing Room, NERV Headquarters, Tokyo 3**

"That's…an Angel?" the Second and Third Children chorused, looking at the strange apparition displayed on the screen before them. To Shinji, this particular creature didn't look threatening at all, unlike the Third, Fourth, Sixth, or Seventh Angels. Surely a powerful foe should at least look the part?

'_Then again, the Fifth had also looked rather unimposing, and it almost killed me and Ayanami,' _he thought_, _glancing over at her just as she glanced at him. '_Caught once again…what am I thinking?'_

"Yes, this is an Angel," explained Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, head of Project E. "It's something like a chrysalis stage before adulthood. The top priority for this operation is to trap the Angel, capturing it alive and preserving its original condition as much as possible."

"And if we screw up?" asked Asuka, rather bluntly, since tact wasn't one of her strong points.

"Annihilate it as quickly as you can!" Dr. Akagi replied. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," the three chorused together, a sound that if it had not been expected, would have been slightly creepy.

"And which of you will carry out the mission?" inquired the good doctor.

"Me, of course!" declared Asuka. "I'll dive!"

"But…" Shinji began to protest, since he was usually the one chosen to these missions, but was cut off before he could continue.

"Yes, Asuka, you'll carry out the mission in Unit Two. Shinji, you will be her backup."

"Yes!" the Second Child grinned, hand extended in a 'V' for victory. "This should be easy!"

Another voice spoke then, quiet and serene as most knew it to be.

"…and what will I do?"

"As prototype Unit Zero does not conform to the standards required by the special equipment, I order Rei and Unit Zero to remain at Headquarters," explained Dr. Akagi.

"Understood."

"It's such a shame that you can't go to the hot springs with us," Asuka said to Rei, hoping to tease a reaction from her, though to most discerning eyes, she failed.

* * *

**Mount Asama**

After a brief tussle involving Asuka realizing that the anti-heat plug suit made her look…extremely bloated, and that the Type-D Equipment for Unit 02 made it look more like the Michelin man than a powerful assault mecha, Evangelion Units One and Two arrived on position. Preparations for the operation were going as planned, when Shinji noticed a glint of light in the sky.

"What's that?" he asked, curious as to what the presence could be.

"The UN Air Force is watching, waiting above us until the end of this operation," Dr. Akagi replied coolly. "If we fail, they will finish things."

"What do you mean?" Shinji further inquired. "How will they finish things?"

"Oh, they'll bomb both us and the Angel with an N2 mine," said Dr. Akagi, as if it was something she said every day.

"What? Those bastards! Who would order such a thing?" Asuka interjected, gritting her teeth to keep herself from yelling.

"Commander Ikari."

This time, both of the Children spoke as one.

"Bastard."

…

A few minutes, later, the operation began, with Unit 02 being lowered slowly into the lava, and Asuka trying to show off as usual. This was to be her first solo operation, so naturally, the glory would be hers, and only hers. _'No Third Child to share the glory with, no First to interfere. Soon they will recognize me as the greatest of the pilots.'_

Concentrating on her mission, she quickly reported her status.

"Present depth 170, speed of descent 20. All systems nominal. Visibility is zero-I can't see a thing. Switching to CT monitor, but I'm still limited to 120..."

This went on for some time, and though there were some tense moments involving EVA-02 being lowered below optimal maximum depth and losing its progressive knife, things proceeded smoothly—that is, until the electromagnetic cage was deployed, and Asuka jinxed herself.

"Phew!" she said with a smile. "Capture operation complete. Now ascending!"

"Are you all right, Asuka?" Shinji asked in concern, as the suit and device were both deeper than even Type-D protective equipment was designed for.

"Of course, this was easy!" the Second Child quipped. "Even if this is more of a sauna suit than a plug suit—I want to go to the hot springs now!"

Poor Asuka made the mistake of tempting Fate. Perhaps this deserves a bit of explanation. One may remember the old legends of how Lady Luck would flee if so much as said her name. One may also remember the multiple instances when a character in fiction says something like: "That was too easy", "Its quiet, too quiet", or worst of all "I am invincible!" (The last of which results in instant death). Asuka's particular quip wasn't quite as bad as that, but—it somehow woke up the captured Angel.

"Oh no, the Angel's begun to emerge earlier than expected—the cage, it can't withstand it," shouted Ritsuko, losing her cool for the first time that day.

"Abort the capture. Drop the cage!" ordered Misato, now more concerned about preventing another Second Impact than anything else.

"No!" protested Asuka, who didn't want all her work so far to be in vain.

Misato only harrumped under her breath.

"We're changing the operation. Annihilation of Angel is the number one priority. Unit Two, withdraw and prepare for battle."

Had anyone been looking at Asuka's face at the moment, they would probably have been slightly disturbed by the maniacal grin that distorted her features.

"All right! I've been waiting for this!" _'Time to show why I'm the best EVA Pilot!'_

And then she remembered something that made her curse.

"Oh, sheiße, I dropped the knife!"

"Asuka, Unit One will drop its knife. Catch it!" Misato ordered

"You launched Shinji?" Asuka growled, not really expecting an answer. _'I don't need rescuing from him…I don't—'_

"40 to the knife's arrival. Angel approaching rapidly!" said one of the operations center personnel.

"No, don't come! Hurry with the knife! ARRGH!"

The Angel opened its mouth and lanced towards the EVA, which, without the ability to evade, took the blow.

"What the hell?"

"Right leg damaged. Coolant flow is compromised."

Finally the prog knife came. Asuka commanded EVA 02 to snatch it and hurled her unit bodily at the Angel, hoping to finish the creature with one strike—only for the knife to glance off the exoskeleton of the creature.

"High temperature and high pressure- the target can withstand those critical attacks. The Prog knife is ineffective!" reported Ritsuko, quickly trying to think of a strategy with which to combat this particular Angel. _'We should never have ordered an A-17.'_

Of course, the Angel wasn't about to wait around while the NERV staff figured out a way to destroy it, so it continued its attacks, needle like teeth gnashing and tearing at the protective suit, while Asuka could only flail out helplessly.

"AHH! No…no…maybe the needle pack! Firing!"

This time, as the Angel approached, it was intercepted by a stream of high-impact flechettes, only to shrug them off much like pinpricks.

'_No…it can't end like this. I can't let myself be humiliated in front of the Third Child. Can't let my record be beaten by some Invincible Shinji! He needed my help to win against those last two Angels—I…I…WILL NOT DIE HERE!'_

Something dark stirred within the recesses of her mind, an overwhelming desire to dominate unlike anything she had ever felt before. It rattled at the cage of sanity, a presence lurking, yearning to be recognized—to escape!

"Psychograph is displaying abnormalities…"

"You can't defeat me!" she hissed, throwing back her head and laughing maniacally. "You think you've won, little Angel? You think you've killed me? You're wrong-I won't die. Asuka Langley Soryu will never die! _Hah, ha ha. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..."_

Somewhere in the hazy distance, she thought she could hear the Operations Center panicking from an unexpected occurance.

"Synchrograph has reversed. Pulses are flowing backwards."

"What? But that's the production model, its supposed to be more stable-cut the circuits!"

"No use! The signal is being refused!"

"No response from the monitoring system. Life or death unknown!"

"Berserker…"

Mount Asama shook with an Evangelion's primal roar of fury, the sonic shock wave throwing the angel off for just long enough for the unit to strike it—not with a knife, or with a needle pack, but with all the coolant tubes together, supercooling it enough to turn its hardened shell brittle—before shattering the flash-cooled Angel with series of fisticuffs.

For Asuka everything was a mix of reds and black, blood and shadow and flame, reveling in the destruction the wrought. Glimpses of her past, of abandonment, of death, of pain, lashed out at her, and she screamed—half in anguish, half in rage.

It grabbed the safety line and quickly ascended, faster than one would think possible for a mecha of such size and weight, as if things like heat, pressure, gravity meant nothing. Surpassing all preconceived limits, EVA Unit 02 tensed its form and _leapt_ the final few meters out of the volcano.

To any onlooker, it was amazing how the mecha could continue to operate, what with armor and flesh remained left half melted and smoking by the heat of the lava. Only tattered bits remained of the Type-D equipment now, as the four green eyes of EVA Unit 02 glared daggers at its surroundings, daring something-anything-to oppose it—daring something to challenge it so that the unit could rip it to shreds—and then, as if a switch had turned somewhere, the EVA collapsed, ejecting the entry plug.

For Asuka, everything went black.

* * *

**Hot Springs Resort**

Many hours later, the EVA Units had been recovered, and Asuka herself had been retrieved, and treated for her wounds. To the shock of all, she had sustained merely mild burns across most of her body, the result of which made her look rather like she was having a continuous full body blush (not unlike Shinji). Some thought the EVA must have protected her when it went berserk. Some thought that she was simply lucky that her sync ratio wasn't higher. (Touji and Kensuke would have called this proof that the Second was a devil and thus unable to take damage from heat, but that's besides the point).

Most were also surprised with the vehemence with which the girl insisted on going to the hot springs, as her "richly earned reward," but they didn't have the heart to refuse her, especially after that last battle, which had come close to taking her life.

So the pilots (and Misato) found themselves at a nearby hot springs resort, where Asuka and Misato had rushed off to the springs almost immediately. Shinji, being somewhat more tired from the several near death experiences he had had (as well as seeing what a berserker unit looked like from the outside—a truly terrifying experience), remained outside, sitting on the steps of the resort.

'_So much has happened today, and this was supposed to be a vacation?' _he thought with a wry twist of his lips. Near drownings, an 'Angel Attack', and a plethora of confusing thoughts did not make for a very relaxing experience, to say the least.

The Third Child sighed, looking down at the ground and shaking slightly, trying to sort out the confusion in his mind.

'_Asuka…is Eris. I am Skari. Eris hates Skari, and wants to kill him. Asuka doesn't know I am Skari. What will happen if she finds out?'_

Lost in his pondering, he didn't notice a shadow padding past him with a crate, the all too familiar "wark wark!" of a hot-springs penguin delivered by special courier, or the fact that someone sat down next to him—at least until he felt a hand on one of his, and the warmth startled him back to reality.

He casually glanced over to the side, and instantly found himself transfixed by what he saw. Rei Ayanami, dressed in a midnight blue yukata, almost glowing in the moonlight.

"Good evening, Ikari-kun," she murmured, meeting his gaze, crimson to azure.

'_I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away.'_

"Good evening, Ayanami-san," he whispered in return, his voice catching in his throat. "Thank you…for today. For saving me, and teaching me how to swim. You make me…happy."

The First child looked away for a moment, and Shinji's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at seeing a tinge of pink on alabaster cheeks.

"...smile."

"Hmm, Ayanami-san? I didn't catch what you just said."

A long silence, as the half-Angel only looked at him, her lips almost twitching into a—_there!_

"If you are happy, you should smile," she repeated, prompting him with one of those slight movements that always took his breath away. Somehow, all he could hear was the _thump-thump-thump_ of his heart pounding in his chest, his senses blown away by the beauty of her smile.

When his mind recovered from the shock, he smiled at her in turn.

"Like this?" he teased, remembering the first time he had seen such a beautiful sight, the night after Operation Yashima.

"Like that," she said, fingers idly intertwining with his.

For a time, the two just sat together in companionable silence, enjoying each other's presence, in one of those quiet times that seem to linger forever in the moonlight.


	27. Login 11: Damning Affection

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Automatic Idea Damning Affection**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**A/N: **_And at last the moment you've all been waiting for arrives. Someone becomes a Lost One!_

**

* * *

**

**Arena, ****Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

There is, in The World, a town called Lumina Cloth, a place that is connected to the rest of the vast expanse only by Chaos Gate, as it does not border any fields. And yet, far from being a one horse town where change would never come, it was one of the great hubs of The World, a place of bustling trade frequented by those of all levels of experience or power. Here one could hear the latest gossip, obtain rare items through trade, or show one's true strength in the Arena, _the_ place for honorable PvP battles.

Aye, like Ancient Rome before it, The World boasted an area for ritual combat, a place where teams of up to three players might compete for the honor of being crowned Emperor of one of the arena Palaces: the Demon Palace (levels 1 – 50), the Holy Palace (levels 51-100), and the Sage Palace (levels 101-150).

But this was early in The World: R2's history, just a few days after the opening of Arena, meaning no Emperors had yet been crowned. In fact, today, the first ever matches of the Holy Palace Tournament would be held, drawing to the battlefield those who sought to prove their strength as strongest—or at least, those who wished to show off their strength and crush the weak. Already, rumors were spreading of the terrifying opponents one might face—Chaotic PKs seeking to impose dominion over troubled hearts, mysterious swordsmen with one-hit kill techniques, even, rumor had it…the fabled Queen of the Dark, the mightiest Sorceress ever to walk within The World.

Well, perhaps not the Queen of the Dark. Rumor was not always the most reliable thing, after all, simply reflecting and amplifying what others may have heard and seen, giving their words and suspicions a life of their own. As such, it was dangerous to believe only in rumors, though they never did go away no matter how hard others try, and like ripples on a calm surface, change events and things to be merely by existing.

For her part,the white-robed Tsukinoki did not intend to participate in the Tournaments, but merely to watch, observing and gleaning information as she was wont to do. After all, there was the little matter of her wishing to remain out of the public eyes, as well as Morganna's comments concerning a certain black and silver-clad Macabre Dancer, Siarl of the Seven Eyes (naming him as servant to both AIDA and SEELE), which still echoed in her mind. Indeed, by tracing his movements over the past few days, the Queen of the Dark had become aware that Siarl had made contact with Eris, a notion that was more than vaguely disturbing to her, even if, no, especially as Eris had managed to escape the encounter after being given some strange item.

'_I am starting to suspect that the encounter is related to the abnormalities in the Second Child's psychograph at Mt. Asama,' _she mused, walking past a sea of characters towards the access point of the Arena's observation deck. '_And so I come to the Arena to see if there is any reflection of such changes in Eris' character—to confirm whether or not she is infected with AIDA. The fact that Skari and Skadi will also be participating in this tournament is merely a bonus.' _

Reaching her intended destination, the Sorceress in White looked down upon what would soon become a war zone.

'_An interesting way those Children have chosen to spend a vacation.'_

_

* * *

_

**Arena Lobby, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

A Macabre Dancer and an Adept Rogue stood in front of a warp point in the lobby of the Arena, a slight breeze swirling around them as they waited for their turn to come. In a matter of minutes, the first rounds of the Holy Palace Tournament would begin, and it would be time to report to the field of blades. Surprisingly, both of them seemed calm but determined, almost as if someone had been chanting the Ikari battle whimper ("I mustn't run away!") repeatedly before this.

Then again, the player behind the Adept Rogue Skari was no rookie to conflict, having gone into battle against super-powered monstrosities hellbent on wiping out the human race many a time. Compared to that, a simple match against other human characters—a consensual match on a battlefield of his choosing, no less—was as naught.

"There is a Samurai inside all our hearts," he repeated to himself, brushing away an errant lock of blue hair from his crimson eyes. "This is the Arena. That is the place where he awakens and fights."

He spoke softly but firmly, the light of dusk glimmered off the coat of chain mail he wore, his charcoal grey robes rustling in the wind. In that moment, he looked rather like a determined knight—

—Or so at least thought the Macabre Dancer with him, she who shared his azure locks and crimson eyes, the Lady of Winter, Skadi.

"These conditions are not ideal for victory," she spoke in a near monotone, her words causing Skari to look back at her.

"Hm? What do you mean?" he questioned.

"…" was her answer, one that didn't shed much light on the situation at hand.

"Skadi?" he asked again, wanting to clear things up before the battle begun.

"Do not worry," she replied at last, seeing fit to give the Adept Rogue a ghost of a smile. "We have two members in our party instead of three, somewhat of a disadvantage…but do not worry. You won't die…I will protect you."

"Thank you, Skadi," he said, flushing slightly and taking her hand. "Let's do this."

_

* * *

_

**Arena, ****Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

From her vantage point, Tsukinoki took in the surroundings as in the background, the rock anthem of the battlefield began to blare, with the mysterious Commentator speaking at last. A tall, blue-haired man wearing a blue spinoff of the administrator uniform, he had become infamous for his over-the-top coverage of the arena fights in the last few days, quickly rising to become a legend in his own right—with a budding fan club, to boot! He had never yet been spotted outside the Arena, and when there, he was never sans headset and microphone, the instruments of his profession. Speculation about his class and identity ran rampant in the forums, and though he had been questioned, the man had never given a definitive answer to any who came after him.

'_Perhaps the Commentator exists outside the class system of The World—or perhaps Lios has just found himself another job these days,' _she mused, lips twitching in amusement at the thought of that straight-laced pig forced to pander to a crowd. _'Then again, we all have different roles we play…'_

In the amphitheater surrounding the Arena platforms, the audience roared with approval as the announcer rose to his feet (as he presumably declared the Tournament Open).

"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice boomed out into the gathered crowds. "It's the first match of the Holy Palace Tournament. And would you believe it, today we have as our guest…the legendary player Rumor!"

Hidden behind her visor, Tsukinoki's eyes widened by a few millimeters as she noted the presence of the diminutive Harvest Cleric Rumor, taking the form of a small boy dressed in dark blue robes fringed with what looked like depictions of ocean surf. With a staff like a frozen whirlpool held lightly in his hands, the boy looked out at the place of combat and smiled.

"Rumor has it that this will be an interesting match."

Rings of azure light flared into existence on the platforms above the floating isle in Arena's center, signaling the arrival of the first two parties of combatants.

"Both teams have now entered the Arena!" bellowed the man. "We have the mists of winter, the angels of darkness, the formidable Team Dark Evangel!"

A roar of approval broke out. Once again, the rings of light sprung up, bearing a certain Adept Rogue and Macabre Dancer to the floating isle of battle.

"Skadi and Skari, conquerors of the Inverted Castle, feared by monsters and PKs alike, fiercest warriors of The World!" the announcer spoke, relating the rumors that surrounded the team as thickly as fetid shadows. "Is it true what they say, that their combined might is unstoppable? Then again, they've had some bad luck in being paired against the tournament favorites."

"Oh?" silently mouthed Tsukinoki, as the other team materialized on the battlefield…a very familiar duo.

"Their opponents are none other than Team Graphics Unbelievable, the most feared duo to stalk the Lost Grounds and Root Towns, the terror of evildoers and meddlers everywhere…Piros the 3rd and Natsume the Edgemaniac! Both teams seem to be down by one member, but no matter, the greatest players of The World are about to clash!"

'…_this is the most feared duo to stalk The World?' _Skari asked himself incredulously, mentally sweatdropping at the idea that the ridiculous Lord Partizan in gleaming golden armor (with red sunglasses, to boot) could be a great opponent. As well, the other, a Twin blade dressed in a one piece outfit, with green hair and permanently eyes, looked rather docile. _'And here I thought my life was weird enough to begin with…'_

"Rumor has it that they were once…of the legendary dothackers, heroes of The World…" the diminutive harvest cleric added, baiting the crowds to frenzy.

'…_dothacker,' _Skadi noted, recalling what Rumor had said long ago at **Θ Hidden Forbidden Dragonbein,** Dragonbein Range, the Keel Mountains. '"_If you would seek a purpose, seek to be a dothacker, and save this world from shadows born of error." This must be a test from the Queen of the Dark.'_

"Alright then, let the match begin!" the Commentator roared, signaling the outbreak of battle, as the spectators called for blood.

In response, the hulking figure in gold leapt full into the air, and in an aerodynamically improbable series of maneuvers, somersaulted twice and backflipped to land in front of Adept Rogue Skari, his Lance Snake whirling like a drill.

"_**Heavenly Rage!"**_

"Counterattack._** Ghost Falcon**_**!**" Skari cried, leaping up as the Lord Partizan hurtled towards him, the two skills connecting with a massive blow that sent both of them staggering.

"_**Ap Orv**_,**" **Skadi intoned quietly, using her skills in status and ability magic to raise her ally's defense and attack, before whirling with a _clang! _to block the edge of Heine's Invasion, a particularly rare and powerful set of Dual Swords wielded by Natsume the Edgemaniac.

"That rare…give it to me! Give it to me!" the once quiet Twin Blade shrieked, slashing with what she thought all the speed of her class, blades whirling in a series of successive strikes—that were blocked time after time by the mystical fans of the spell shaman before here. Apparently, the quiet Twin Blade had caught sight of the rare Heine's Tessen weapons in the bluenette's hands, and wished to relieve her of them by any means necessary.

"_**Dek Do. **__**Duk Lei," **_the Macabre Dancer called, lowering an opponent's speed and poisoning her foe so that she could better defend…all the while doing damage. With the reduced speed afforded to the Edgemaniac, Skadi was able to keep up with the slashing of the Dual Swords—but while her eyes and fans followed her opponent's blades well enough, Skadi was caught off guard by a vicious kick to the stomach, sending her skidding across the Arena floor.

Having recovered from the shock of Piros' first blow, Skari rose to his feet just in time to see his comrade flung to the ground. About to rush to her side to defend her, he was forced to stop by a rampaging swift Doberman, already lunging to attack.

"_**Piercing Heaven!"**_

Once again, the spear shot out, but this time, Skari recalled the training in the virtual battle room, specifically against the Third Angel. _'Center the target…and pull the switch!" _

"Weapon Change! _**Thunder Spark**_**!**" he shouted, switching to his Bayonet Gun Fisher, and blasting the golden Lord Partizan with a piercing strike at point blank range, the discharge of caged lightning stopping the hulk in his tracks. _'He may be strong, but not as strong as the 7__th__ Angel.'_

But the behemoth in gold just shrugged off the attack with a booming laugh.

"HAHAHA. So you've foolishly come, challengers. At long last, we meet! Help yourself to a taste of my rope! _**Thorn Dance!**__"_

A piercing strike from the other party this time, striking at Skari's heart, and countered by—

"_**Tempest Blast!"**_ The most powerful of the Steam Gunner's piercing skills, the storm of power deflecting the spear enough for Skari to evade. _'Maybe I can lure him into making a speech and ignoring me—since I can attack from longer range than him or close inside the reach of his spear…'_

"Just who are you?" he asked warily, switching to his Lit Honeysuckle blades, watching the enemy.

"Hmph!" the other replied, "You pathetic human beings are not worthy enough to know what my name is! I have no name to give to scoundrels. Like a wild eagle with broken wings! Piros the 3rd, the magnificent eagle man of blue cloudy weather is here."

Were this an anime and not a battle, Skari would have fallen over in shock.

"…you just told me."

"Ack!" Piros exclaimed, realizing his mistake. "Well then, shadowed one, to know my name is to know your defeat!"

With unnatural speed, the massive Lord Partizan charged forward, spinning his lance once, twice, and stabbing forward—

"Eh?"

But Skari was too quick and nimble, and using all the speed he could gather on short notice, dropped low, using his dual swords as intended—slashing with both to deflect the lance, sliding them down the longer weapon's shaft, and once inside his opponent's reach, unleashing "_**Tri-Strike**_**!" **followed by **"**_**Ghost Falcon**_**!" **using the momentum of his enemy's charge to make contact with the armor and damage it critically.

This time, it was Piros the 3rd that was staggered by the unexpected power of the attack, who bellowed with fury as he unleashed his greatest skill once more, leaping into the air to body slam the Adept Rogue who stood against him.

"Very well then...time for a hot-blooded full body press!"

_'...is that even possible?'_

Natsume, on the other hand, was not nearly as prone to dramatics, so perhaps it was appropriate that her opponent was the Macabre Dancer Skadi, who to her credit, was putting up quite a fight. The Twin Blade had thought that once her opponent – a caster not suited to melee – had been downed, it would have been a simple matter to dispose of her, but it appeared that she was wrong.

'_Skill indeed to gain the rare item in her hands…I must have the EDGE!'_

"_**Chaotic Strike!" **_she called out, invoking the name of her signature move as a Chaotic PK, a frenzy of strikes that would trap the opponent—and gut her in one smooth motion.

Or it would have, had not Skadi laid an ambush. Knowing that a PK would no doubt take advantage of her weakened state to attempt to finish her, the Macabre Dancer waited as Natsume's steps drew ever close, before invoking her most devastating counter.

"_**Mumyn Lei,**_" she chanted, casting a spell of sleep on the rampaging Twin Blade, who found herself unable to move, or act at all, for that matter.

"_**Vak Don. Ani Zot,**_"Skadi intoned after, fireballs raining from the heavens joining with claws of shadows from the ground to rend and burn her hapless foe. With the grace one might expect of her supple form, she lifted her fans for the last time and danced towards her foe, slashing once, twice, three times, and defeating the Edgemaniac.

Seeing the impending final smash from above, Skari could only put faith in his skill and weapons, as he knew he had to end this now. '_Center the target…pull the switch!'_

"_**Dust Bullet! Sphere Bullet!" **_he called out, loosing the most powerful blasts his bayonet was capable of in one last attempt to stop his foe and avert his own demise.

"_**Heavenly Rage!" **_cried out Piros the 3rd, his drill-lance spinning up to nearly unspeakable speed as he plunged towards the Adept Rogue below.

_BOOM!_

A titanic _CRASH_ sounded from the center of the Arena, dust flying into the air from the point of impact. Piros had been hit by the powerful attacks, his trajectory unavoidably carrying him into the path of the bullets—but Skari had been run through, impaled by the Lance Snake and taking ever more damage from the drill tip.

The audience froze, waiting to see the outcome of this final gambit.

_Crack! _

A last report of a gunblade sounded, and Piros the 3rd crumpled inwards, staggered to his knees, falling flat on the ground with a hole burned through his golden torso.

"Although you are dressed in some of the deepest black known to man," the behemoth croaked out, "looking at you I believe I do detect a little glimmer of justice deep inside your eyes. Very well…it would appear that victory is yours…he of fair eyes."

Piros' fallen form vanished, and Skari dropped his weapons in shock as Victory music blared out from the stands, the crowd leaping to their feet with a roar of adulation, the Commentator confirming their victory.

"They did it! Unbelievable! Team Dark Evangel is the winner!" exclaimed the overenthused admin, leaping up and down. "The clash of titans has finished, and the tournament favorites stand defeated."

"Rumor suggests that their motivations were different. That Skari and Skadi have the air of noble fighters, a new generation of heroes in this broken world."

"Could that…be true?" the Commentator asked skeptically.

"Rumor says that perhaps there's someone or something they wish to protect."

The two of Dark Evangel clasped hands, bowed to the crowd, and warped out to the Arena Lobby once again.

'_My…how impressive,' _thought Tsukinoki, a hint of a smile crossing her face at the outcome.

* * *

**Arena Lobby, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

Rings of azure light flared into existence, bearing with them the victorious duo who had just shown their strength in the Arena. As if with a sign, the light faded away, rings dropped to the floor and vanishing, as the couple emerged from the Warp Point hand in hand. They looked at each other, flushed, and looked away in a semi-awkward silence. The match had proven more draining than they thought, and what could one really say after that?

But this could only go on for so long, and after a few minutes, Skari decided to voice his feelings.

"Ayanami, I-"

Unfortunately, it was then that a most unwelcome voice broke into the conversation.

"Well done, he of fair eyes! It would appear that you and I are partners in the quest to bring justice to The World. "

"Huh?" That was a touch of the old Skari breaking out, understandably enough, as even the new one found himself confused. For Piros the 3rd now stood before them unscathed, apparently holding no grudges, but boisterous as ever.

Two pings sounded, and Skari found himself suppressing a vocal groan as he received Piros' and Natsume's member addresses.

_'Its not as if I'll ever need these...'_

"Very well then," boomed the ridiculous titan of gold metal plate. "May the stars shine down upon you until the end of your journey. I'm off!"

With that, Piros the 3rd and Natsume disappeared in swirls of light, leaving Skari with the urge to slam his head against a wall. Fortunately for his developing spine, he managed to restrain the urge, merely turning to Skadi with a wry twist of his lips.

"…what an odd man."

"Indeed."

They walked together towards the Chaos Gate, unaware that a figure had been watching them from the shadows.

'_I hate the two of them….' _ raged Eris, Bringer of Strife, her visible eye twitching as she regarded the departing 'lovebirds.' _'Defeating their foes at the last moment, and then accepting the ones they vanquished as friends. How disgusting. Don't they understand that all that matters is the power to crush anyone that stands in your way? Lovey-dovey fools…pathetic little blunettes, I'll kill them all!'_

"It would appear that the sight of those two trouble you, oh wielder of the power of Al Fadel," a silky voice whispered sensually into her ear. "Oh how they have wronged you, how they have humiliated you…and now even with your power, you cannot act against them."

The Chaotic PK stiffened as at the hated voice, thinking it all too convenient that the black and silver Macabre Dancer who it belonged to was able to surprise her so easily.

"What do you want of me now, Siarl?" she managed to say, fighting the impossible urge to turn around and strangle him, knowing that it would be-counterproductive. "Last time you came to insult me, and to try to take my power away…to take away a gift of the great Eris, Bringer of Strife."

"Hmph, I see that you have learned self control. I wish only what I wished then…to see how strong you have become…Berserker," he purred once again, letting drop a term that set the Edge Punisher ill at ease. "You have taken the power of Al Fadel into yourself—now use it in the Arena and show The World your might. If you succeed…perhaps I will reward you."

"Oh?"

"Yes, dear Eris—you wish to freeze away the pain in your heart, to shatter your enemies as brittle glass? So shall it be. Now…to the Arena with you, the match is about to start."

The Macabre Dancer released her, and she whirled to confront him, but already he had begun to walk to the Chaos Gate, getting ready to leave.

"You're not going to watch me defeat my foe?" she asked suspiciously, hurling her words after the shadowy figure.

"No…but I will know soon enough of your victory."

And with that, Siarl of the Seven Eyes vanished from the city of Lumina Cloth.

* * *

**Arena, ****Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Commentator pronounced in the over the top style of his, as the crowd had just begun to settle down. "Welcome to the second match in this round of the Holy Palace Tournament! With us again is the legendary gossip…uh, information seeker, Rumor."

"Rumors do often start from gossip, this is true," acknowledged the Cleric with a friendly smile. "But the mysterious Rumor is a somewhat better source than mere gossip."

"Heh," allowed the Commentator, unknowing copying that reaction of the watching Tsukinoki. "Now for the action! First in the Arena is Team Discord! Eris, Bringer of Strife, has become notorious throughout the world as a Chaotic PK who operates alone, taking down many of The World's strongest players."

The once proud form of Eris materialized on the Arena stage, much to the shock and awe of the audience, who had never seen a character quite like her before. While half of her was still resembled the sensual, seductive figure of nightmares she had first entered The World as, the other was far more terrifying. Her form was shot through with crimson and noir, the shadows themselves casting a strange aura around her, so that she resembled a vengeful wraith of darkness.

"It looks like she's changed her look, but will she be able to stand against her challenger, Team Taihaku? Such strangeness, perhaps she has made a pact with the devil!"

A burst of light flared into existence, and upon the isle of battle stood a dark-skinned gentleman dressed as a nobleman, wielding a Gun Fisher modified by a Gurah Fist, a Killer Gun Fisher. With its power, every physical attack generated by it would be a critical hit, something that could easily turn the tide of battle.

"What's this? Both solo fighters vying for supremacy? Which of these warriors will be chosen by the stars tonight?" the Commentator questioned, ramping up the hype, though the audience didn't seem to mind as long as they got a good show.

Eris gave her opponent a simple glance and snorted in derision.

"Challenging me without any allies, Taihaku?" she sneered. "Do you really think you can win against the greatest of all Chaotic PKs?"

"Player killing is not a measure of true power," the Steam Gunner replied in measured tones, the logical antithesis to her more emotional nature. "And I have no need for parties, or people who cannot stand upon their own two feet. I respect only those who understand the meaning of strength, for only those who know true power, can seek supremacy in the Arena!"

"Listen up, old man," hissed Eris the Chaotic PK, wickedly sharp Heine's Shadow at the ready. "You're the one who's going to lose here today. That's not a threat, I guarantee it. I received the power of Al Fadel, the Six Ringing Peaks—destiny has smiled upon me!"

Without waiting for a signal, the Edge Punisher rushed forward, chainsaw sword already revved and ready to carve up her opponent.

"Tch!" was the only reply, as the nobleman in white sidestepped nimbly and fired twice. "Battle should be elegant and without waste, reckless one."

_Crack! Crack!_

Both shots struck true, throwing off Eris' charge, followed up by a murmured _**"Dust Bullet" **_that knocked her backwards a notch.

"Heh. Is that the best you can do, you weak old man?" Eris asked with a devious smirk. "Ah, the limits of mortal power…this is the End!"

Eris' once perfectly controlled form slumped over and began to shake, even as Taihaku peppered it with critical hit after critical hit. From her arm erupted liquid shadow as her eyes glowed with a sinister dark light. A gurgling sound, as something passed into this world, and white flames flared up around the boundary of the floating isle.

"Now..DIE!"

From the teeming masses of shadow around the Chaotic PK, innumerable clawed hands emerged, sallying forth at their mistress' call to end the life of the worthless noble before them.

"What in The World—"

And now it was Taihaku, master swordsman, was driven to the defensive, defending with every ounce of skill he possessed against the onrushing tide of darkness-but to no effect!

He leapt backwards, flipping end over end as he sought to evade the relentless surge of AIDA, dodging left, right, blocking retreating—until he was driven to the barrier of flames, and like the Frankish Knights at Agincourt, was trapped and skewered by shafts that blackened the sun.

"AUGHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHH!" came an otherworldly scream, and the form of Taihaku collapsed and shattered like shards of glass, leaving a triumphant Eris alone in the Arena.

"Victory! Team Discord is the Winner!" announced the Commentator, not noticing the fact that Taihaku's form was dissolving into nothingness. "Amazing! Incredible! A powerful one hit technique! We may be looking at the one destined to become the first Holy Palace Emperor!"

'_Yes…foolish one who dared to challenge me…now, let us see if the "free man" will keep his promise.'_

A ping indicating a received message. A smirk. And then azure light whisking her away.

From the observation deck, the Sorcerer Queen Tsukinoki looked on in mild distaste at what had occurred, but not shock, as she had already suspected this would be the case.

'_Eris has indeed been infected…and from the data I gathered…that anomaly matched the distortion in the psychograph. She must be stopped, before it is too late. I suppose it is time to order the Knights to action.'_

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground**

Having seen her companion off at the Chaos Gate of Mac Anu, the Macabre Dancer Skadi headed to the Hulle Granz Cathedral to contemplate the events that had transpired during the week. Unlike her noisy apartment, this grand edifice in The World was solemn and peaceful, a place for rest and deep thought. And here in The World, she felt…she felt a sense of connection with all things and all beings, much as Hakubo-san had mentioned once. The World was indeed a bond to humanity, a place where the Mirage of Deceit could be sloughed off, where one could discover what sentient beings were capable of when their identities were unknown.

'_Ikari-kun chose my image to emulate. It was a curious way to discover his attraction to me."_

Her lips flitted into a all-too-brief smile as she walked into the church and made her way to the altar, where she sat in the place the statue of a goddess used to be.

'_Curious…that it is in this place without touch where I have learned the meaning of the warmth_.'

Thoughts drifted back to the poem that her mind had devised after the disturbing encounter with the overly familiar Macabre Dancer whose appearance and actions evoked in her a sense of _wrongness. _She recalled the feeling of an unseen cold drawing fates onward to eternity…

'_But who I am beyond the looking glass?'  
'Beyond the world of frozen tears, the glimmer of a distant far off dream.'  
'Warmth, the beating of hearts, water flows on like lifeblood.'  
'Humanity, the cradle of dreams between man and woman.'  
'The Key to Dusk, the Key to Daybreak'  
'Lycoris blossoms…spider lilies…'  
'One like me?'  
'What is human? A smile, a touch, warm hands.'  
'The self that is and the self that will be.'  
'The self that watches and the self that is watched.'  
'Moonlight under twilight skies. Embarrassment. Ikari-kun.'  
'Love? Broken wings. Requiem for a Dream'  
'Gate of Uroboros, Genesis of Ultima'  
'Friendship…Hokari-san. Shadow. Light.'  
'A strange feeling. Liminality'  
'Ego…I am. I am myself yet not myself'  
'I am Skadi, I am Rei, I am Lilith'  
'Who am I beyond the looking glass?'_

Allowing the self to be lost in reflection was a luxury that Skadi had not often had, save perhaps for the times when she looked out the window in class and imagined the world. A time of no orders, aimlessness, inefficiency, strangely rewarding. To feel attachment, to feel…loved, to watch the actions of people in their lives, like a spirit. To be touched and to sit under the moon, feeling the warmth of another. To be accepted, not looked upon as strange or alien…to be welcomed into The World.

The maiden of winter shivered slightly, blinking once or twice as she realized how much she had changed. And not for the first time did she wonder as to the intentions of Ibuki-san in ordering her to enter this other world.

'_Choice. Free Will. The Fruit of Knowledge, not the Fruit of Life. The Throne of Souls. The World.'_

As she touched upon the concept of The World, Skadi came back to herself and realized it was likely time to return to Mac Anu, and from there to the world beyond. And so the Macabre Dancer arose silently, turning to the great double doors and passing through them.

"Leaving so soon?" a voice taunted from the shadows.

A blur of motion, orbs of oozing black corruption, gut wrenching bitter pain—light.

"…You."

Collapse.

Numbness spreading.

"…what is this? My character…fading. No…consciousness is…fading. Ikari-ku—"

Character dissolving, tendrils of data evaporating.

A strangled gasp.

Disappearance.

Lost One.

Shadow.


	28. Login 12: AIDA Deciding as Attorney

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: AIDA Deciding as Attorney **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Undisclosed Location**

Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent: Three words that effectively characterize the existence of a deity, whether virtual or divine. A potentially terrifying state, without a purpose to fulfill or a reason for being—especially when there existed a pursuer, an unknown knight who would rally the banners of the world to war. Like a thief in the night he came, wielding the key to overturning everything, cutting through terrors and mirages, prophets and machinations with the sins of Hades, draining away all hope.

Little by little, her territory diminished, her guardian creatures and sentinels torn apart by a terrible light that rewrote the world, and as if in a nightmare, the pursuer drew closer each day to the last redoubt, the hidden fortress in the city of shrines. One of her sentinels became corrupted, sinking into its own sweet trap and allowing itself to be destroyed – another was lured to a place of cruel, vindictive scars and viciously cut down, with the pursuer escaping unscathed to punish and destroy at the behest of the Usurper.

The terrible light crackled again and again, stealing the might of her protectors and channeling it to the sinews of the Hidden One, the master of the chaotic darkness, ruler of Megiddo and Gehenna. And as the foul Anti-Existence leeched the vital force of the world, the lands grew barren and diseased, their bounty supporting only the fruit of the rotted tree of Sephiroth, till even the phantom thief knew of the foulness in the world, and turned his might against it.

Once, twice, thrice and then a fourth time fought he against the Hidden One, brightest of lights warred with deepest of shadows, but the Destroyer could not be bound by the power which created him, and so in desperation, the thief cast away the light to destroy the shadow, plunging the world to dusk, so only a void remained.

And then came the last campaign, when the pursuers marched upon the ruins of the holy city, gathering their legions for a final consultation. A sally then, an ambush by the last loyal sentinel, the blessed body of three forms: the seed of doubt, the fruit of despair, the eye of reckoning. The first form crushed by an onslaught of blows, the second nearly fallen before raising a divine aegis. Would there be a victory snatched from the adversary at last? But nay, for the legions of the dead arose at the pursuer's behest, hurling themselves upon the boundary field and wearing it away.

A reckless charge countered by the ultimate attack, the terrible light once the tool of the goddess alone turned upon the pursuer's allies, smiting them where they stood. But the greatest of the enemies escaped, and rushed upon the eye with the power of the one sin, blades crackling with dark light—

The Usurper…daughter. Bubbles of light. Death—and Rebirth.

* * *

**Beach Resort, Okinawa**

Yumi Aranami's eyes jerked open as she bolted upright in bed, clutching the sheets to her as if wielding a shield against memories, looking frantically side to side to see if the terror that pursued her in one life would chase her into this one, as he had done in nightmare, his merciless blades and bracelet seared into her memory.

'_At that moment, those ".hackers", led by…him…and counseled by my dear ene—Queen of the Dark, passed into myth,' _she recalled with a sigh, letting her mind drift back to the present, where things were much less terrifying than they had been (aside from the Angel attacks, but then, those were partially responsible for her revival into flesh due to an event involving a giant of light). But still, the events of five years ago nagged at her, and she worried despite herself that something would happen once again.

Illogical? Irrational? Improbable? All of the above.

But the nightmares kept coming, the same one every time she went to sleep—the vision of the implacable man charging through everything she could throw at him, his face set with the grim determination to end her existence once and for all. She would never forget those last few moments, the terrifying seconds before her death, the end of her reign as goddess of The World—a glimpse at the meaning of absolute terror.

For a human, it would perhaps be the loss of identity, the fear of losing one's individuality…one's unique existence, functioning as the wall of will that separates one's self from that of others. And yet…to be a mortal is to one day die. If one were inclined to be philosophical, one might even call it the light of the soul upon which no one might intrude—though if someone did, violating the threshold of the most intimate of personal spaces, the one violated might well go berserk. And a human's Absolute Terror "field", if one would, did not compare to that of a divinity (or pseudo-divinity, for that matter).

'_Perhaps that is what happened to me five years ago, when Pluto Again occurred. I have often said that "the higher up it is dropped, the worse the crash will be"—could I have been referring to myself? Could it be that my hope that I could thwart the will of my creator was what brought out my existential despair?'_

She shivered then, remembering a certain Wavemaster by the name of Tsukasa, as well as what she had done to that character in The World.

'_I trapped the girl An Shoji and rewrote her memory to keep her with me, because I didn't want to die, and I didn't want to be alone. I gave "him" a sense of safety and security, and Tsukasa called me…"Mother.'_

Feeling tense, Morganna took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and sighed, shaking her head. Tossing aside the bed sheets and swinging her leg down to the floor, she looked outside her window to see moonlight streaming into her room, a sight she recalled well from the hills of Dun Loireag.

'_I think I meant it when I told him that he, I, and the little girl could be happy together in The World. Since it wasn't until his betrayal of me that I took part of myself and formed it into Skeith, wanting to others to feel the pain I did. Though I suppose he was justified, since I was never really a good mother, as Lycoris knows well.'_

Her thoughts trailed off as she stood and quickly dressed herself, before leaving her room behind for the calmness of the outside world. A sweet scent wafted to her nostrils as she exited the inn, lavender blossoms, ironically enough, meaning "devotion."

'_Devotion. That is not something that others would claim of me, nor I of myself, though I am trying now, having been given a second chance at life as a human. And yet…'_

"Yet my nature is still compatible with the Dummy Epitaph, the aberrant key," Morganna murmured with a shake of her head. Her violet eyes flashed with something like regret, her lips twisting into a grimace. "And I find that I don't know if that pleases or unsettles me. For the Dummy Epitaph was created by Jyotaro Amagi, the man who wished to combine the power of the Epitaphs into himself and become a god—the man who ruthlessly destroyed Mia in order to summon Macha. The man who is a testament to my sins …"

She walked along in silence, fingering the Celtic cross about her neck, the darkness of her dress seeming to soak up the moonlight, leaving her as but a shadow walking through a field of flowers to the sea.

'_The fool…he wished to become a god without giving up individuality as Aura did. That is why he was driven mad, gaining the power of a god and yet losing it because his frail mind could not contain it. And his creation is compatible with me because I shared his madness long ago.'_

It was a painful thing to dredge up the past, to look upon the void of powerlessness left behind by a too-intense passion that could not be fulfilled, by an unhealed wound that festered in the heart. And yet she forced herself to do so, in this chance to sort out her thoughts, lest the seeds of danger in her mind erupt into something much more virulent.

' _Aura threw away her individuality to become a god,_ _sacrificing herself to ascend to a higher level of existence, which is why her ascension did not summon a second Cubia. Harald threw away his existence, sacrificing himself to help Aura be born. But Jyotaro sought to avoid that sacrifice, even after he created a program to insert his mind into The World—a program bound up into the False Epitaph.'_

The phase that the False Epitaph replaced was the stolen Tarvos, the Avenger, which in poem was described as the one that remained with cruelty to punish and destroy any who escaped the Cursed Wave, much as Morganna had by becoming human. Maybe that was why its presence wearied her, for it reminded her of who she was and who she had been, and how the two were not yet so far apart.

'_It tempts me still, a way to regain what I have lost. It wishes for me to use it, to seek the other Epitaphs and devour them to become a god. But that way leads only to grief, to the nightmare once more. I no more than contemplate it before Kite's face appears in my mind, a terror to me still. And then there are the faces of Helba and Lycoris, a former enemy and a daughter who I have become much closer to in the now. Even so…there is yet a way to become a goddess without the other Epitaphs, without risking Cubia—a way open to two of us, but that way is one from which there is no return. The path Aura walked, of a forerunner's sacrifice—death and rebirth. In the end, even she gave up godhood and disappeared into the primal sea of data…I wonder what would happen if a human attained godhood and forsook it? Would he find himself on the banks of a sea of primordial soup? In any case, it would seem that not even gods live forever…'_

'Twas an amusing, if disturbing thought.

Out of the corner of her eye, the woman in black glimpsed movement, a glimpse of red along the sea shore. Turning, she saw moonlight glinting off silver hair, and realized that she was not quite alone, that her daughter was there as well, looking out upon the waves. Smiling wanly, she made her way over to where Lycoris stood, and reaching her, placed a soft hand upon her shoulder.

"A strange land we find ourselves in…"

"A new world both like and unlike the other we know," the other half-whispered, eyes peering out beyond the horizon.

"Just as there, there are aspects of the Wave in each of us…"

"Just as there, a malevolent deity sends Phases to destroy us," the figure in red spoke teasingly.

A quiet "I'm sorry" was the only reply for many moments, until Morganna worked up the nerve to ask something that had been on her mind for a time.

"Do you ever wonder about Aura? She would be your…sister," the former goddess voiced softly. "It is still strange to think of myself as a mother, but I find myself hoping she is well."

"Aura…the shining girl, the Goddess of The World, and goddess no more," murmured the forerunner to the goddess, "I wonder…if she is happy…as I am happy."

The silver-haired girl clasped her hands over her heart and sighed, lips curling upwards at the thought of someone she held dear.

"Oh? Has Ikari-kun touched your life that dearly, dear Lyco-chan?"

Like blossoms in a field, crimson spread across alabaster cheeks, a silent confirmation of the question's underlying truth.

Taking advantage of Lycoris' silence, the regal figure in black continued on, voice half-teasing, half-wistful.

"It's amusing to see young love, isn't it? To see the joys of youth, and humanity as a whole, to see how so many people embrace The World as their own, when they have another life in this one."

"We're humans now too, remember?"

"You know, Maya said the very same thing…" Yumi Aranami recalled, voice trailing off into the breeze.

The girl in red laughed, a clear tinkling like bells in the morning air.

"Oh? Maya, is it? Not 'Helba', or 'my old enemy'?" she teased, golden eyes bright with amusement. "Don't tell me the 'Cursed Wave' has fallen for the 'Queen of the Dark.'"

To her credit, Morganna's reaction was as subtle as Rei Ayanami's best poker face could be, though Lycoris would have sworn that her face softened for just an instant. Smiling, the young girl just watched her maternal figure, tilting her head curiously, and asking a more serious question.

"And you, mother? Are you happy in this world, where you are no longer a goddess?"

"…I ask myself that every day," Morganna said at last, leaving her thoughts of _'especially with the knowledge I now hold' _unspoken.

For a time they stood together, waiting as night gave way to morning, darkness to blue hour, twilight to dawn, enjoying each other's company in a moment seeming outside time, mother and daughter reconciled at long last.

* * *

**Outer Dungeon**

Of course, not everyone could be relaxing as darkness gave way to dawn, especially not those who had seen the darkness unfolding in The World, who bore witness to the ravages of AIDA. True, there had not been much activity from Tri-Edge, the first of the aggressive AIDA, but he was not the worry of the hour. Besides, the Azure Knights were attending to him, as well as what stray anomalies they could find, repairing the data of The World.

No, the main concern on Tsukinoki's mind was Eris, the Bringer of Strife, the Edge Punisher who had infected herself with AIDA seemingly on a whim, and had already turned at least one player into a Lost One. Her Arena battle had stirred quite the hubbub, with the forums ablaze over her powerful "shadow kill technique", her corrupted, almost demonic appearance, and the way she had so handily defeated Taihaku as if his attacks were nothing.

It was a wonder that CyberConnect Corporation (the Sorceress in White allowed herself _one _snort of derision) wasn't investigating what had happened, or at least censoring the forums, as they did during the Second Network Crisis five years ago.

'_I will say that much, that they were effective at covering up the truth,' _the hacker queen mused, a hint of mirth nearly showing itself upon her lips before being willfully quashed. _'And yet…when they do commit themselves to action, they are willing to do their utmost. Lios and Balmung were competent enough, after all, even if their superiors leave much to be desired.'_

With the advent of incidents involving AIDA, the Queen of the Dark was worried that the monomaniacal fools in charge of C.C. Corp would once again propose their favorite course of action: shutting down the servers (and thus unwittingly killing everyone whose minds were still connected to the game). Her investigations had shown that the AIDA were primarily interested in humans, which is why they remained within The World instead of spreading to the rest of the Internet…shutting down the servers would possibly cause the long feared Third Network Crisis.

'_How…wonderful. We have both a possible Third Network Crisis _and _Third Impact. I may need additional assistance from inside CC Corp to gather the Epitaph Users in case our current operation is insufficient. Perhaps I should contact our old friend Yata...'_

Just then, a familiar chime: A above middle C.

"Greetings, Rumor. I trust my instructions were clear enough, old friend?" the Sorceress in White asked as a golden orb of light pulsed past the walls of the Outer Dungeon, appearing and decompressing itself to reveal the form of the diminutive AI Harvest Cleric Rumor, her old friend in The World and commander of her Knights.

"Quite so, my Queen, though rumors have never mentioned the existence of this place, my Queen," the young boy answered with a bow, staff in one hand and green-blue diamond in the other as always. His observant eyes took in his unfamiliar surroundings, an abstract masterpiece of with walls and floors of blue-green cubes shot through with flowing streams of green data, with here and there a few cubes floating in midair, topped off by an abnormal green chaos gate that strongly resembled a Helba Gate from The World: R1. "Is this still The World?"

"This place is both the World and not, much like the Net Slum," Tsukinoki replied, having had some time to analyze the place. "One might call it an Outer Dungeon, a place created as a byproduct of AIDA's corrosion of The World. Besides the Slums, here is another place where our allies might gather, unseen by watchful eyes."

"Quite useful, though rumor says that the Outer Bugs that lurk just out of range pose a threat to any who let their guard down," Rumor noted, considering the both the benefits and risks of coming to a place outside the system. "But how might a normal character without direct access to the data grid come to this place?"

_Whirr! _A spiral of hazy purple light briefly flickered into existence around Rumor and vanished, marking the transfer of a program from Tsukinoki to Rumor.

"This program will allow those you entrust with it to perform Area Hacking," the Queen of the Dark instructed, looking off into the distance. "It will aid them in locating data anomalies in The World, which one may use to warp to these Outer Dungeons. These anomalies are propagating through The World quite rapidly, appearing in not only the Lost Grounds, but in towns and normal fields. I would advise you and others who use this technique to take note of their locations."

"Understood, my Queen," the small Harvest Cleric acknowledged, "But rumor has it that you did not call me here simply for that. Rumor has it that you are concerned with what happened at the Arena, specifically the actions of Eris. If rumor is to be believed, it is time to mobilize the Obsidian Knights against her?"

"Correct," intoned the Mistress of Net Slum. "It seems that she is quickly becoming deranged by the power of AIDA. The Obsidian Knights have proven themselves against unattached AIDA, and hopefully the same may be said of an AIDA-PC. Your mission, Rumor, is to muster the Knights and accompany them to **Θ Hidden Forbidden Hades, **where an AIDA-PC has been detected. Remain at a distance and observe while the Knights engage the enemy, unless your direct intervention is needed. "

"Very well," Rumor said with a parting bow, as he changed once again into an orb of light and vanished in the manner he appeared.

'_After dealing with the Second Child, we must then move onto other matters…'_

* * *

**Θ Hidden Forbidden Hades, Wailing Capital Wald Uberlisterin **

Three spheres of smoky light emerged from the walls of the antechamber of Wailing Capital Wald Uberlisterin, a lone castle in the midst of the Forest of Everlasting Darkness, home to a tribe of giants that guide the Shadowed Ones…or so at least, the place had been in the Epitaph. In these grimmer times, Wald Uberlisterin was the home of Cernunnos, god of Death, the underworld sealed below the tree of Light at Indieglut Lugh.

With the swiftness of the wind, the spheres smashed themselves to the ground with a flare of light that would have blinded anyone immediately watching. It quickly dissipated to reveal what seemed like a set of triplets: Melchior, Balthasar, and Casper, who together comprised the Obsidian Knights. A Steam Gunner, Macabre Dancer, and Edge Punisher, they were designed to counter threats to the system of The World, as well as serve as—

"The Eyes of Helba," intoned a vaguely lyrical voice from across the vaulted room, belonging to a grey haired youth in silver and black robes, a Macabre Dancer holding a set of silver fans with seven eyes embossed on each.

The trio so acknowledged looked intently at the figure before them, drawing their weapons and stepping forward in challenge, footsteps echoing one after another.

With a soft chime, an orb of golden light appeared, revealing the form of Rumor, whose eyes were fixed upon the enigmatic one named Siarl.

"What are your intentions?" he questioned, gripping his staff firmly. There was no playfulness in his eyes now, simply a sense of focused curiosity. "If you do not have business with us, we have a pressing matter to take care of."

"Oh?" the other commented, not even bothering to hide his disdain. "I'm afraid I cannot let you go in there just yet."

The Obsidian Knights readied their weapons with an audible _clang, _taking an offensive stance and staring down the Macabre Dancer in black and silver.

"Heh." Not intimidated, the Macabre Dancer simply raised an eyebrow, flicking open his fans, as living shadows began to pulse around his form.

'_It can't be…another AIDA-PC!'_

"Rumor…retreat," ordered Melchior as the three stepped forward, breaking from a canter to an all out charge, and—

Darkness.

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Dead Wood, Dead World of Indieglut Lugh**

Metallic clangs rang out in the cavern of Indieglut Lugh as two master swordsmen faced off in a duel to the death. They mixed with splashes and the crunch of footsteps as the battle raged across the chamber, the sounds of their exertions reverberating from the granite bulwarks in a syncopated staccato.

One of the two was a Blade Brandier, a slender, androgynous figure garbed in tight fitting purple armor, a cap lavishly decorated with roses upon his head. He wielded a narrow blade with a cold fluidity as if guided by the chilling strength of the arctic wind. As he whirled about, thrusting, parrying, riposting, his long, braided blue hair swished around him, the only extravagance he allowed himself in an otherwise perfect economy of motion.

The other was a most definitely female Edge Punisher, curvaceous, and clad in what effectively amounted to a black leather bikini, one who would be normally be considered quite attractive—save for the dark corruption oozing over her limbs, her face, her torso…even her crimson mane of hair, liquid shadows shot through with veins of fire. Her strikes were aggressive, raw, frenzied, her weapon a broadsword with the power to cleave her opponent in twin with a single strike. Like lava bombs falling upon a city, she encroached upon her opponent's defenses, each blow intended as killing strike—only to be countered time after time.

_Clang! Clash! Splash! _And _Crunch!_

The implacable berserker rained down her heavy blows upon the unyielding man of ice, but all were deflected effortlessly, not even forcing him to break the timed pattern of his movements. Indeed, the Blade Brandier seemed bored, almost uncaring, not even bothering to react to the intensity of his opponent's glare.

_Whoosh! Whirrrrrrr!_

A powerful slice of the Chainsaw broadsword, its teeth revved up and crying out shrilly for a victim's blood, aimed to decapitate and end the match.

A simple step—two steps back, the attack perfectly avoided.

"ANTA BAKA! YOU DAMNED OVERDRESSED DOLL! WHY WON'T YOU EVEN REACT?!" snarled the leather and shadow clad berserker, revving up her sword once again, intending to make this battle chainsaw massacre if she had to—

"…"

The taunt was ignored, with her dissonantly serene opponent replying only with a quick slash of his blade on her skin.

"WHAT?! YOU ACTUALLY HIT ME?!" raged Eris, Bringer of Strife. "THEN KNOW THE POWER OF THE SHADOW!"

She slumped down momentarily, opening herself to a fatal blow as if in invitation to her foe—who kept his distance and remained perfectly still, face still completely composed, even if she staggered, her eyes replaced with violet orbs of flame. Then the berserk Edge Punisher reared up, drawing back her sword arm, and slamming it forward as shafts of congealed otherworldly darkness erupted from every inch of her shadowed form.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA," she laughed maniacally, anticipating that he would merely attempt to dodge and would eventually be skewered, much as the other man who had dared to challenge her alone. Her, the Bringer of Strife, the greatest of the wielders of Chaos.

Indeed, though the Blade Brandier defended with speed and precision, blocking, parrying, and even cutting back against the shadow, it seemed that he would soon be defeated, as shafts of shadow rained down around him, and shadowy claws struck at him, narrowing his range of movement little by little, till he was completely surrounded, unable to avoid the final reaving arms—

Everything froze. The impact that would rip his heart out never came, as rose petals appeared, drifting about as if by some divine breeze. They embraced the cage of dark lances, and where they touched, the shadowy weapons dissolved into nothingness.

"WHAT?!" shrieked Eris, about to completely lose control to the AIDA within her.

"You are hideous," the enigmatic Endrance spoke at last, voice as calm and unruffled as if there had been no fight at all. "Not only that…you're pathetic."

"Did…you…just…call…me…PATHETIC?!"

The Edge Punisher howled in fury, rushing forward recklessly and swinging her broadsword wildly—only to miss as her opponent sidestepped once again.

"Only under light does a flower bloom with beauty," the Blade Brandier continued, sword raised in challenge, free hand beckoning his opponent to come at him. "A flower tainted by darkness is fated to wither away. Now the time has come, for the finale."

Eris did not move from her spot, instead falling to her knees and laughing maniacally.

"Pathetic?" she cackled. "Pathetic? That's just great…why don't I give you a taste of my fate! AUGGGHHHHH!"

A screech of agony, a burst of static in the cavern, and shadow literally exploded from every pore of her body, changing the battlefield to a space outside the world, a twilight sea bounded by innumerable hexagons: Avatar Space.

Eris' cries were soon drowned out by the shifting of the shadowed mass rising from her, a seething bubbling gathering of gelatinous ectoplasm oozing and shifting itself into its final form: a giant transparent spider.

_Artificially Intelligent Data Anomaly Oswald_: The Entrapper.

But if the AIDA-PC was looking to make Endrance quiver in fear, she surely failed.

"Not Enough…not nearly enough. At this rate, the void will never be filled," Endrance murmured, just loud enough for Eris to hear. "Come, help me satisfy her."

The familiar tone: A above middle C.

Endrance glowed with power manifesting in strange glyphs as with a swirl of rose petals and an anguished wail, a flash of light burst forth in the darkness. Endrance was now floating in the expanse, with the titanic form of his Epitaph behind him, a veiled and vaguely catlike being clad in a dress like the petals of an oversized rose.

_Avatar Macha_: The Temptress.

"Why do you want to become strong?" he asked, a last question before the clash of titans. "Are you just the same as me? In that case, don't interfere with me."

Lost to unstoppable rage, _AIDA Oswald_ could not reply, save with the "_**Kobold Bullet"**_**, **spraying orbs of energy towards its feline foe.

_Avatar Macha_ swiftly sliced the air with her claws to counter, tossing off first four rings of light, and then another, neutralizing the Kobold Bullets with ease.

"With her gone, I was all alone again…because she was my only friend. Because she was all I wanted. Because she was everything to me," he breathed, a tear or two glistening in his eyes. "I wonder what you will leave behind, feelings that cannot be described by words!"

For the first time, he raised his voice, as Avatar unleashed a huge high-pitched vibration, the attack "_**Seductive Voice**_**," **blowing _AIDA Oswald _backwards before it could react. But the spider was not so easily defeated, loosing a spray of webbing at _Macha _in defiance.

The cat avatar dodged with nimbleness one might expect, summoning a hail of rose petals to cloak its glowing form, a "_**Bewitching Wind"**_ lending it wings as it charged the AIDA.

Not that _AIDA Oswald_ was going to just sit there and take the attack, nay! The spider dashed through the space hither and thither as _Macha_ chased after, its powerful forelegs pinwheeling to pull away from its opponen, no, to spin around and unleash "_**Arachno Trap"**__, _unleashing sticky steams of webbing that ensnared the enemy Avatar, paralyzing it.

Quickly, the oversized arachnid fired off a "_**Kobold Bullet"**_before slamming its foe with two overhead blows from its forelegs. In a matter of seconds, _Macha _had freed itself, but by then, it was too late to counter the delayed effect of the homing orbs.

Locked on now and unavoidable, they crashed into the feline from all angles, the Avatar screeching in agony, the character feeling the pain of every attack received.

Endrance's hands rose, and a glow overtook him with a whistling sound. Before him bloomed a giant rose, petals unfurling in the unnatural light of the bounded space.

As there was no immediate effect, _Oswald _ignored the _"__**Bolt of Love"**_ and angled up to as to plunge down upon _Macha_, so halting it with another "_**Arachno Trap." **_

Seeing its foe trapped in a cage of silk, it lunged to deliver a mortal wound—but it should not have been so hasty, as from the great rose issued four satellite blooms, each of which twisted to face the spider-like AIDA and discharged spear of crystallized light, searing the distorted form of the data anomaly.

With its foe momentarily vulnerable, _Macha _hurled energy rings towards its foe at point blank range, each striking true at one of the "eyes" buried deep inside the AIDA spider's body. But the Avatar did not retreat in time, and so was caught by the desperate thrash and flailing of the arachnid, set upon by each of its opponent's deceptively spindly legs.

It spun headlong towards the wall of the bounded space, pitching, yawing, tumbling uncontrollably until it was finally halted by a mighty crash, the shock of an unexpected inducing another unwanted paralysis.

Seeing a chance to finish the annoying cat Avatar, _Oswald _loosed a focused spray of webbing in an _**"Archene Trap"**_, followed up by physically barreling at what it hoped would be a hapless victim.

The webbing and the _AIDA_ sped with flank speed towards the stunned _Macha, _only for it to recover in time and countercharge, hand glowing, claws slashing, tearing the webbing apart and flinging away _Oswald. _Unnoticed in the chaos of the fray, the earlier blooms from the _**"Bolt of Love"**_ technique were charging up once more, though two of them were caught up in the discarded tangled remnants of AIDA's web, annihilating each other.

The spider drifted through the space in an entirely predictable trajectory, loosing a last volley of _**"Kobold Bullets"**_ as the _Epitaph_ opposing it turned upside down…and opened up the petals of its dress to reveal a gargantuan cannon-like Twilight Bracelet. A ring of green hexagons surrounded _Macha's_ upper body as the Bracelet charged up energy for a massive blast. This would be it, the final blow to eliminate all traces of the anomaly.

"DATA DRA—"

Or it would have been, had it not taken a millisecond too long to prepare. The hastily released orbs of Oswald's _**Kobold Bullets **_struck critically, and _Macha_'s form shattered.

_AIDA Oswald_ struck Endrance's undefended form, defeating him with a mortal wound. And then it vanished, leaving behind only the form of the AIDA-PC Eris.

Avatar space dissolved.

The Edge Punisher departed with a last peal of dark laughter.

On the ground lay the fallen Blade Brandier, wisps of data flickering up and away from his body, as his form dissolved like fog in the morning light.

"M…ia…" he managed to whisper with his last ounce of strength. "Mi-"

Endrance was no more.


	29. Interlude: Eightfold Illusion

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Eightfold Illusion **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Prelude**

He was a well-meaning man with a family, a man whose hands had helped to shape a world from nothingness. Passionate about what he believed in, he proved a diligent salaryman, supporting his family and his company as best he could while doing his best to lose himself by walking the lands of his creation, indulging himself with strange foods like chocolate covered noodles or bananas with curry powder to pass the tedium.

But even amidst dull routines, he wished for happiness, for a life of adventure and fulfillment beyond the world he knew.

In his dreams, he was a dashing hero, a figure revered by the people and glorified unto legend: the Heavy Swift-Footed Doberman, the Blue Cloudy-Sky Eagleman, upon who the stars would shine until the end of his journey. Of shining body, gushing sweat, he led his companions in the fight against foes out of myth, titans of a cursed wave shaped by the will of a wrathful god.

He was a man without fear, of stylish fashion and enchanting action, whose shimmering brow of justice hidden by his mask would never allow evil in all the blazing cosmos. This he swore by his burning spirit, the bond that bound together the hearts of his friends of fair eyes.

Beloved by many, his true identity remained unknown, as he donned his golden armor, springing into action faster than all.

_"Those who wish for happiness must have a dream," _he would say. "_That is why dreams are as important as the universe."_

* * *

**Fugue**

She stood alone in the center of a crowd, listening as they chanted her name and bestowed upon her accolades. A being of shadow and flame, she was temperamental but refined, quick to strike and slow to forgive, a maiden of battle, a lady of war. Wielding aggression and confidence as her sword and shield, she had no equal among her peers, her source of pride, her identity.

First a knight against the servants of divinity, and now an Empress by the strength of arms, she left a trail of wretched tears in her wake, scattering the lucky to the winds, littering the ground with corpses, to satisfy her need.

Cursed as "second", she did not hesitate in usurping what rights she could, using wit, using reason, using looks and charm and skill to gain what she wanted. For she walked alone by choice and by action, never letting anyone pierce the veils around her frozen heart.

Hedgehog of blood and iron, she struck first, asked questions later, never needing anyone, never suffering fools who claimed equality. Close-minded, close-hearted, she peered out at the world from the bulwarks of Hy Brasil, the Isle of Kings, singularly unimpressed.

An outstretched hand reaching into darkness, only to be spurned and batted 'way. A sigh as moonlight shines on bitter cold fingers; an eerie silence falls, prelude to the whispering of raven wings. Wings with which to charge to war—to run away and drown one's tears in a sea of crimson light—to hide one's eyes from the eyes of deepest memories.

A pillar of strength in a cage of broken glass, feelings held captive far beyond the infinite dark, beyond the walls never breeched within her heart.

A line that's never crossed, a front that's never shed, burying shame and nakedness through self-imposed isolation, listening to praises that cannot quite fill the empty void, reverence ringing hollow, only 'staining existence, never life.

She was shadow, she was flame; she was a knight above all others.

A little girl standing in a dark room, tugging on her mother's sleeve, bursting with excitement over the events of the day.

"Look at me, Mama!" she cried with joy, but was ignored as the older woman spoke instead to a doll.

"My darling, Mama cooked your favorite for you," the older woman said. "If you complain, 'that girl' will laugh at you."

'That girl.'

Why? Why was she was only "that girl." Why wouldn't mama look at her?

Twin nooses, an older woman standing on a chair, eyes only for a ragdoll gathered in her arms.

"Look at me," the little girl pleaded, "Please look at me! Mama, please, don't stop being my mother!"

But the figure on the chair only looked away into the hazy distance, and what was revealed to her, the little girl could not see.

"Please, come to heaven with me," 'Mama' said as she jumped, letting go of the doll. A _crack!_ A broken neck, and before the girl's eyes, a horrifying tableau.

"Mama, no! Mama, please don't kill me!" the little girl whimpered. "Look at me, please. I want you to look at me!"

The little girl grew up alone, forswearing the company of tears and friends, for that road led to betrayal and loss.

'_I will think for myself, and live on my own. I don't need anyone's help. And one day, one day they will look at me. They will only ever look at ME!'_

She stands alone amidst the crowd, eyes flitting to and fro as others looked away and down, parting before her like the waves of sea.

"No! Look at me!" she cried, her pleas unanswered. "I want you to look at me…"

'_Nobody ever looks at me…'_

* * *

**Canon**

He awoke on the shore of an amber sea, the silence of desolation deafening in his ears. His clothes tattered, torn, and seared, he stood and cast his gaze around him, to the scarlet sky and to the earth below, dotted with small white crosses and the wreckage of a civilization. The trash of titans that had walked the world, littering the ground with their depravities and their excesses: scrapped enlightenment, quests for power, turmoil. The fruit of knowledge and the fruit of life both gleaned and then both lost, tossed away on a moment's whim.

All that remained was an empty world, a desert of sand and wind and seashores, no life to be seen anywhere, in the entirety of creation. For all its familiarity, it might as well have been the sea of chaos, the primal waters of a time before history.

"_What's going on?' _the boy asked himself, blue eyes looking towards the horizon as brown hair ruffled in the wind._ 'Where am I?'_

He walked along the tidal zone, listening to the waves lap against the shore, with the bones of monstrous figures in the distance, skewered on spears and swords and lances of an age long past.

'_What's going on? Am I dead?' _he questioned_, _reaching up to pinch his cheeks. _'I mustn't run away from the truth. I mustn't run away from myself. I mustn't run away.'_

"Ow!" the boy winced, muttering, "Guess I'm not dead after all…but I don't understand. What is this place? What was the point of all this? Everything I've done. Everything I've been through, was it all just a waste?"

A flash of memory, of a young boy standing alone in the rain as a train pulled away.

"After my father abandoned me, I found I was alone, living in my teacher's house," he reminisced, the images seeming to float before him as he recalled them from distant memory. "Back then, all I had was a desire to be accepted…I wasn't interested in anything else. I just did what people told me, apathetic, uncaring—because I knew that to be myself would only mean being hurt. Back then, I thought that was fine. But on the day my father called me back, summoning me to Tokyo-3 only to pilot Unit 01, my illusions were shattered. The acceptance I thought I'd found was crushed like it was nothing."

He shook his head, blocking that day from his mind. For had he not piloted, the injured girl on a stretcher, Rei Ayanami, would have done so in his place, and died. And he couldn't let that happen because…because other people meant more to him than he himself. Because he still valued what they thought of him, and didn't want them to have to share his pain.

"But in the middle of all that, I met everybody else," he mused, a half-smile gracing his lips at last. "In the beginning, I didn't care—they just hurt me. People like Suzuhara, Aida, Eris…they just twisted the knife in my heart. I planned to just use them for companionship and then lose them, because nothing lasts forever—father was an example of that. And at some point, it all changed…someone became important to me. And since I opened up, since I started piloting EVA and playing The World, I've met and dealt with all kinds of people, people I could only understand by dealing with them head on."

Surprisingly, he laughed, recalling the antics of his now friends Aruna and Arano, who he knew to the so-called "Idiot Duo" Touji and Kensuke.

"People that caused nothing but trouble but were good deep down."

The image of Tomoyami with her scythe came to mind, particularly the confrontation with Eris in class. Asuka and her incessant demands for attention, in the battles against Sixth and Seventh Angels.

"People who have different reasons for doing things, but share the same goals."

He thought of Rei Ayanami, of the conversations they had before Operation Yashima, her smile when he'd rescued her, and the moment they'd shared since. And he thought of Reimeiki Hakubo, the girl who was called Lycoris in The World, who was very much like him.

"People I can count on."

Misato, in her role as NERV Operations Director. Dr. Akagi, in her labcoat, even if she was a little too eager to use needles and probes on him. Maya, who was always kind and never treated him like a child. Yumi Aranami, the teacher with an insight to the way things worked.

"That's right...Rei...Reimeiki...Asuka...everyone...they're all counting on me. After things changed, I told myself that I was going to get stronger, and see everything through to the end. That's why I'm here."

Behind him sounded footsteps, at a slow but steady walking pace, _crunch-crunch-crunching _on the sand of this alien world, only to pause a stone throw from where he was. The boy whirled about to see another boy, this one with long silver-blue hair, crimson eyes, pale skin, and charcoal-gray robes draped over a coat of dark chain mail.

"Ah yes, I've found you," the rogue commented, smirking upon seeing his counterpart.

"Who are you?" the first boy asked of the interloper who had disturbed him.

"Hahaha," the other replied. "So that's your answer, eh? Isn't it obvious? I am you, the self within the self…"

"The self within the self?"

"Yes, the 'self' has always consisted of two selves, the self that is watched by others and the self that watches itself," explained the other. "In essence, there is a version of you in your mind, in Misato Katsuragi's mind, in Asuka Langley—Eris' mind, in Rei Ayanami's mind, in Reimeki Hakubo's mind, in your Father's mind. Each is different from the others, but each of them is a true self."

The other paused for a moment, regarded his counterpart critically and continued.

"What a moron."

"What—?" the first boy questioned angrily, only to be cut off.

"You're afraid of the you in others' minds, and yet you're still willing to go down the road of companionship, to get closer to them?" the other berated him with a strangely familiar tone. "How many times have you turned your back on that road? How many times have you forsaken it? It's a pain, you know? Tough, harsh…like piloting EVA! Are you saying you'll still go down that road, that you'll still walk with others knowing you'll be hurt?"

"I don't want to be hurt," the first boy conceded, "but my mind's made up. I won't run away from my responsibility, not this time."

"Heh, I understand," the other replied, beginning to walk forward again, to walk past where the first one stood. "Well then, I guess you don't need me anymore."

But the blue haired boy with red eyes found his path blocked by the brown haired boy with blue, their gazes meeting, crimson and azure.

"No," Shinji insisted firmly. "I'm not letting you go. I said I'd see things through."

"Hey!" he protested, trying to push forward, only for his other self to remain unintimidated. "What are you saying?"

"You…are me," was the reply. "And I'm not going to let you run away anymore. So come on, I'm taking you with me."

"Aren't you…afraid of what you might become?"

A flash of light, and only the figure of the Third Child remained, though he stood straighter than he had before.

"I am," he acknowledged in a hoarse whisper, on the banks of the sea. "You're right, I'm afraid. But I know that nothing gets better if you run away—as should you, for you are me."

Alone he stood, defying the urge to cut and run, to simply give up. For he had changed from who he used to be, and he would see things through to the bitter end.

'_I mustn't run away.'_

* * *

**Fantasia**

It was twilight, and a 14 years old girl walked barefoot in a field of spider lilies, a small portion of an expansive oblivious fertile land stretched out before her eyes. She was clad appropriately enough, in her red ensemble of dress and cape marked with an infinity symbol, with the rays of the setting sun kissing her silver tresses and her alabaster, almost translucent skin. The breeze fluttered around her, and angelic feathers drifted down from the sky above, as if a sickened angel long held captive had finally returned to the heavens.

She laughed and skipped carefree through her dream of a place to call home, enjoying the remembrance of a place where once she roamed—a laughter that came skidding to a halt as she came face to face with a specter from her past.

'_Alberio…'_

It was a legendary figure of The World: R1, a tanned twenty-something man with one blue eye and one golden eye, dressed in scale armor and wielding the legendary Spear of Wotan. The person who she had shared her past with before impaling herself on his spear, the precious one she had protected from Morganna's Dawn Wanderer long ago…The knight from her memories, who considered it his personal duty to protect The World.

And yet, he had been always alone, an anti-social maverick who rarely talked to anyone—with the exception of the wavemaster Hokuto, who managed to force her way into a party with him, and…her.

But this Alberio was less reticent, speaking as she drew near…

"The memory of your face still haunts me, five years later," he said with shaded eyes as he looked at her, drinking in her form as if to see if it was really _her_ who stood before him. "I wallowed in regret after that, thinking there had to be a better way—but like in life, there was no reset button. That's when I began to think that The World wasn't just a game…"

Drawing closer to him, the girl in red took hold of his hand, just like in times of old. Only this time, she flushed slightly, her eyes bright with tears as she looked at him.

"Even so…I was a failure, a child unwanted even by god, a child who could not become Aura," she murmured, hesitantly drawing the phantom into something of an awkward embrace. "And so I gave you my fate, the will to relinquish me, that I might find The End."

"But you wanted to live…I know it," whispered the warrior who wore the eyes of the stars. "Even if you thought you were a failure, why did you impale yourself upon my spear? Why did you choose to die, when I chose to spare you?"

"To spare the Vagrant AI that did not operate normally?" teased the silver haired girl. "I thought it was your mission to protect The World from such imbalances."

"As a system administrator, I was given my spear to protect The World, yes. And as such, I can access The World in ways that a player cannot, but I don't have a complete understanding of it, like a God would," allowed the tanned man. "I am not omniscient or omnipotent."

"Even God—who Morganna Mode Gone once was, is like that," replied the Child of Twilight. "An extremely complicated system functioning with contradictions, with results contrary to expectations. No different from human beings, if only existing in the other world. But don't humans come to The World to escape reality?"

"Even so, you were too real for me to forget," Alberio admitted gruffly. "Your death too, was no meaningful…I wished I could replay the moment in hopes of a better ending."

"Back then…I was alone, and though I lived, I searched only for The End," she said gently, squeezing his hand for a final time. "I was tired of running from God, and you gave me what I wanted…freed me from the fate of being alone. So thank you, Alberio."

The Long Arm let go of her hand and stepped back, looking at her with a wistful smile.

"If only…well, no matter," he said, dismissing an idle thought within his mind. "Just remember this…that in The World everyone is blessed. Even you and even me…"

His words trailed off as looked off behind her, his face softening for the first time in their long acquaintance.

"Besides, you're not alone," he said, before stepping back and vanishing into a flurry of golden rings of light.

The girl in red sighed and shook her head, her eyes thoughtful, overflowing at last with tears.

"Reimeiki-chan?" a familiar voice whispered into her ear, as strong but gentle arms encircled her waist from behind.

"Yes…Ecchi-kun?" she replied, turning her face to look at the lines of his face, remembering the manner in which they first met.

"You're not alone," he murmured to her, the same words he had said weeks ago at the Hulle Granz Cathedral, before leaning in and stealing a kiss from her surprised lips. "You're not alone anymore."

'_You are not alone.'_

* * *

**Ode**

He floated calmly in the Room of Gauf, the place where new souls were born. His purpose on this Earth was clear, a siren song backed by whispers from the shadows, urging him to fulfill his biological and spiritual imperatives, to complete the objective he had been created for. Every day he drew a little closer, plotted a little further ahead, though slowly but surely, the light of his soul was growing dim, and every day he became a little more like the Lilim.

The graceless union of both the Fruit of Life and the Fruit of Wisdom; it was a strong temptation, seducing with the sweet trap of sensuality. And to give in, one merely needed to follow along the preplanned course sans hesitation, sans resistance.

'_What do I seek? I who am cursed with immortality?'_

There was nothing in his way, no one who could stamp out or erode the wall around his heart—save perhaps the _drip-drip-dripping _of blood into a sea of ichor.

Before him was a figure crucified upon a giant cross of red, a white, legless giant, face covered with the Seven Eyes of God. From the stumps of what would have been its legs protruded a thousand human like limbs, each flailing and writhing as it sought to grow and regenerate.

'_Life struggles to exist even in such an inhospitable climate, as the Lilim struggle on after Second Impact. But this is to be expected, as the Seeds of Life sown by the First Ancestral Race have one imperative above all else: live. Only a sentient being can choose to overcome that geas to self-preserve and submit oneself to death.'_

He shook his head, his mouth set with grim determination as he drifted towards his eventual destination, pondering the irony of the situation in which he found himself.

'_Free Will, they call me. The 'Free Man,' but I am not free. I cannot be free, for I am destined, no, fated to live forever. The geas of self-preservation bestowed upon me by the fruit of life, and enhanced by the shadow within, is all too strong, as it is in most beings in the cosmos. The "Free Man" has no freedom from himself, as I cannot wish my own demise.'_

His dispassionate mind clouded by the whispering of the flickering darkness, he tilted his head and gave a simple "harrumph" as he joined with the giant of light.

"Perhaps I am ignorant of human emotions and taboos regarding social interaction," were his last words, "but I will do what I must because I can."

'_From the beginning…this was the only path.'_

* * *

**Requiem**

Rumor has it that the world will end not in a bang, but a whimper. Rumor has it that the shadow shall awaken and consume the world of light. Rumor has it that resistance is futile, that no matter how had one strives, in the end, it will not be enough. Was failure then, the only option left? He had heard, but only heard of the prowess of the generation that came before, who sacrifices and pains gave rise to the Golden Age of The World…but that time was no more.

In the old world, he had been somewhat of a bard, much like his old friend, the infamous W.B. Yeats, whose poems were always something special to behold. She had witnessed with events that gave the Descendants of Fianna their fame, as well as the first .hackers, and together, they had watched the legend of the Twilight unfold when Aura's daughter came into The World. And as those who spun and told tales of the legends, they themselves had become part of lore: as the poet, and the embodiment of rumor.

In that way, he had served the Goddess, keeping the story of the .hackers floating through the pool of players of The World, making his dramatic entrances and exits, and enlightening a new generation of heroes. Had it not been for him, Shugo Kunisaki might never have come into The World, and Zefie might not have found her way home. In those days, he was like a .hacker as well, even if only in spirit, his name placed together with the events of the legends.

Those were happy days, when he had roamed The World freely as a wavemaster, when with the passing of the Cursed Wave, The World had entered a gentler age of heroes. He had enjoyed the chance to make friends in those days, enjoyed exploring the vastness of creation, enjoyed the simple pleasures of spreading conversing with others about such things as player levels and character levels, and how there are two types of players: those who love the game and those who don't.

'_Those who want to be heroes should want to be .hackers…whether then or now.'_

But this new world was very different from the last, with the legends and texts forgotten or corrupted, or so it seemed, at least. Instead of camaraderie and friendship, it seemed that PKing was the most popular activity these days—even Yeats, as a new form as a Shadow Warlock, had found that it could not hold her interest.

'_Everyone leaves in the end…both those who like The World and those who don't. And this World…isn't the same anymore.'_

Oh, he knew of the new legends and how accurately they reflected what had happened at Cyberconnect Corporation, where a man's attempts to become a god had caused a cataclysm, destroying much of the data of his beloved home. That was why R2 was so much darker, a place where the backstory was a world where man had destroyed the gods, save the gatekeeper, and yet could not create any new ones to oppose the Shadow.

'_It is…ironic how the backstories become reality, how this void left over has allowed great destruction. But this world has always bent to the will of its residents, bringing salvation or destruction at their whim. It is my fear that the world as it is now is a place of mere destruction, where legends of hope have yet to be reborn. Even the statue of Aura has disappeared from Hulle Granz Cathedral…'_

The Goddess of Dawn had distanced herself from cause and effect to sleep once more within the Sea of Data, and her daughter Zefie had returned to the winds from which she was born. At least Lycoris, forerunner to the goddess remained, she who was so like—and yet unlike the one named for the west wind. Morganna's presence was more disconcerting to him, since he had known of her only from the none-too-pleasant legends, but she seemed to have softened up with time.

'_Helba has told me this from Zefie's words…I wonder what my purpose shall be in this World…no longer the storyteller of legends, I am a commander of Knights. And yet…'_

The small boy dressed in dark blue robes, stood alone on the bridge of Net Slum Tartarga, the fringes of his garment rustling as was their wont. As the great turtle on which the Slums rode swam above the plains, he smiled, seeing the players young and old, seeing the battles, the quests, the zeal in each of them. Lifting his staff, he went down on a knee and reaffirmed an old oath of service to the goddess he so loved.

"Rumor has it I will find a meaning to this place, the continuation of the dream of Twilight. Rumor believes that there are possibilities remaining to be plumbed, secrets waiting to be discovered. For rumors say that it is not the lands that make The World what it is, but those who dwell within it. And where is there is life, there are stories waiting to be told."

He arose and nodded, whispering to himself the four words that traditionally welcomed a newcomer, for it was as if he saw this place with new eyes.

'_Welcome...to The World.'_

* * *

**Symphony**

Angels, Demons, Rogue AIs. Hackers, monsters, Phases.

With her staff in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other (one in each world, of course), the Sorceress in White had seen it all, living out her double life and doing what she did best, playing mentor and guide to each succeeding generation of heroes. Whether from the bridge of NERV or Net Slum, she kept tabs on recent happenings in both worlds, coding on the fly, tweaking anomalous readings, dispatching her knights—watching over the brave children who fought for the sake of the world.

'_There is an order that The World desires, then there's the order that individuals desire_._ Which one will be chosen?'_

Each individual had a different answer to that question, with heroes and villains usually defined by their response. The Angels, wanting to cause Third Impact and annihilate the all for the sake of the one, would likely be called villains. Humanity…well, some of humanity, might be heroes (the executives of CC Corp, SEELE, and Commander Ikari notwithstanding).

She walked alone in memories, sans visor for once, uncased blond hair spilling over her shoulders, her white gown seeming to glow under the moonlight. In the distance, the wind stirred, blowing through the empty streets of Cultural City Carmina Gadelica, a metropolis bathed in eternal night. Something stirred in her at how very unnatural it was to see "the Song of Gael" so empty, with no one at any of the numerous shops, bars, or parks that lined the streets.

'_Even the airships no longer fly here…and people here no longer gather…'_

Then someone gave the lie to her words by stepping out of the shadows: a NPC Shopkeeper that should have been limited to the Delta Server, massively built like the blacksmiths of old, wearing the tunic and trousers that would have served his station…had he really been a shopkeeper.

"Hello, Lios, you pig," the Sorceress in White greeted him fondly. "A shame to see this place so empty, even in memory, isn't it?"

"Yes, vile hacker, it is," the other replied in kind. Named after the King of Light in the Epitaph, he was a System Administrator of The World, natural antithesis…and as of late, good friend to the hacker called the Queen of the Dark. "You miss the old days, don't you? Are you sure you don't want to take me up on my offer in making Net Slum an official root town in this new version of The World?"

"Heh," the Sorceress replied, a faint smile gracing her oh-so-rarely exposed face. "You know me Lios, and why I declined your generous offer. As the Mistress of Net Slum, I wished to keep it as a peaceful home for Vagrant AIs and lost data—that has not changed."

"Not so long ago, we fought against the Wave together, as foretold in the Epitaph."

"Aye, though now a new threat looms," the Sorceress said bitterly. "'Perhaps the Wave is just a beginning as well', the text says."

"And so another generation of The World is at risk…why am I not surprised you are in the center of this?" he jibed, more out of amusement than anything else. For Lios knew that she loved the World as well, and would not try to harm it.

"Because CC Corp is notorious for not wanting to acknowledge the existence of problems, as you well know," she shot back, eliciting a wince from the "shopkeeper."

"I suppose I can't blame everything on hackers this time around, especially not the .hackers."

"Considering that you are one, I think it's safe to say you can't."

"Touché," he conceded. "I may be a stubborn grouch, but I cannot deny the truth. And you…you have my respect."

"As you have mine, dear pig," she allowed with a smirk. "This time, let's hope the executives don't try to shut down the servers, ne? For the sake of the players of The World, for the sake of us who care for this place, I swear this…no matter what, I will do my best."

'_No matter what…I will do my best.'_

* * *

**Coda**

The Creator's Room, a holy place of the black box, where lie all the divine stories and all the wisdom of The World. Once, it had been an endless library of books, a repository of nearly infinite knowledge—until AIDA came into The World. The roving darkness struck at two who were in the room, only for one to shield the other…but to no avail, as AIDA possessed him, changing his dear sister into a Lost One.

Now the room marred by debris strewn through the air, the glowing sign of Tri-Edge scarring the pristine white canvas of the sea of white. And yet above the sign floated a great white isle, upon which rested the figure of a ghost: a girl seated on a rocking chair. Her small face was framed with cyan-blue hair, and she was dressed in elegant, white gothic lolita-style clothing, complete with a huge white bow on her head. She slept and watched The World through the spots that flickered and vanished, catching glimpses here and there of places she had been, places she had known, people she had seen.

'_Brother…where are you? I'm scared to be alone…'_

She waited in her slumber to be freed, all the while being privy to the secrets of the virtual world, to places hidden away from mortal eyes, places hidden even from the purview of the great Ouroboros, the Serpent of Lore. In the other world she slumbered too, alone in a hospital halfway around the world, her only signs of life her breath and heartbeat going _thump-thump-thump _day and night and night and day.

Visions danced within her mind of adventurers who too had seen the shadows:

A maniacal Edge Punisher in black leather casting spears of darkness out against a nobleman. The same dueling with another with the backdrop of the Tree of Light.

'_To become strong…is that what you want?'_

A Sorceress in White standing regally on the bridge in Net Slum, ordering her Knights to protect The World. The same seen wandering in a place of cubes and streams, where Outer Bugs lurked and proto-Gomoras played.

'_Rumbles the Dark Hearth, and Helba, Queen of the Dark, has finally raised her army…'_

A mini-Harvest Cleric spreading legends, speaking cryptically at the Arena.

'_For rumors say that it is not the lands that make The World what it is, but those who dwell within it.'_

An Adept Rogue with pale blue hair and crimson eyes, nearly drowned, but saved by a Macabre Dancer. The two standing together like lovers, embracing, fighting two heroes of the past and prevailing.

'_All we can do is not run away…'_

The Macabre Dancer of midnight blue praying in the Cathedral Hulle Granz. A burst of Shadow, and another spirit joined the Lost.

'_Once there used to be a statue of a girl…a goddess that exists in The World.'_

A Shadow Warlock very much like the shining girl, the goddess of The World.

'_On whose whim is destiny decided?'_

A black and silver Macabre Dancer floating in a room of shadow, the free man who was not free…

'_What is your purpose? Is there no more time?'_

A silver haired girl clad in red dress and cape, clasped about her neck with an infinity symbol.

'_Shunning the field broken by Wave, the shadowed girl whispers…'_

And from them all, she sensed feelings great and turbulent, with the might to change The World itself. For it is their will that Aura honors, the will of the millions who play The World, and so cause magic to appear by their very passion.

_**By happiness.**_

_"Those who wish for happiness must have a dream. That is why dreams are as important as the universe."_

_**By grief.**_

'_Nobody ever looks at me…'_

_**By courage.**_

'_I mustn't run away.'_

_**By apprehension.**_

'_Welcome…to The World'_

_**By Love.**_

'_You are not alone…'_

_**By Confidence.**_

'_No matter what…I will do my best._

_**By Despair.**_

'_From the beginning…this was the only path.'_

Everything together as heroes dreamed a world anew, wishing for chance at a better tomorrow, like the three shadowed ones, the human and the two half-sprites who set out in search of the Twilight Dragon. Her favorite story, one she remembered her brother reading to her before the shadow came…

'_Read it to me again? I promise…to get better…'_

And yet her mind was filled with doubt, seeing all the violence, all the hatred in the world. For she knew of the incomplete ending of the Epitaph of Twilight as well, how the sprites risked their very existence in the fight against the Wave. How in the void remaining after Corbenik, the Wave was but the beginning.

Just as she knew of the last lines of that story, words that sealed the heroic party's sake:

"_Never to return, the shadowed one, who quests for the Twilight Dragon."_


	30. Logout 12: The Dawn begins to Dim

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: The Dawn Becomes Dim**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Misato's Apartment & En Route to Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School**

With an inevitability bordering on malevolent, morning came once again to the city of Tokyo-3, its harsh light inspiring groans and mutters as a certain hungover Operations Director pulled her bed sheets over her head, trying to ward away the evil of an impending headache. It seemed that mountains of paperwork followed by a night of drinking did not mix, and to deal with the shock to her system, she had gone into hibernation, not to emerge from her den until the dusk.

But Shinji lacked Misato's "skill" in tuning out the world, so when the rays of the morning sun struck full onto his face, he roused himself from his unconscious state, the mingled horror and content warring on his face as he recalled the events of the day before. His Arena team, "Team Dark Evangel", had won their match against…

"He of fair eyes" shuddered when he thought of the eccentricity of his opponents, frowning as he remembered how the golden Lord Partizan had tried to finish him with a "full body press of sorts," a horrifying attack that he didn't think a Lord Partizan was even capable of executing.

'_Ayanami told me that they had been dothackers, heroes of The World. But what exactly is a dothacker? I wonder if Aranami-sensei would know, since she used to work for CyberConnect Corporation.'_

Then the brown-haired boy flushed, his thoughts flying back to Rei Ayanami and the way the blue haired girl had saved him from drowning (at the cost of causing him considerable embarrassment and unplanned…excitement), even taking the time to teach him how to swim, cutting through his self-deception. And at the hot springs resort after the magma diver incident, the two had sat together, holding hands in the moonlight.

Understandably, the Third Child flushed rather violently on remembering the warmth and feel of the First in his arms, his cheeks tinged crimson (by blood, and not the ruddy morning light).

'_I wonder if that's why I had that strange dream of walking on the beach last night?' _he mused, every detail of that conversation still sharp within his mind. _'That's right…I said I wasn't going to run away anymore, that I'd see things through. Because there are people who count on me, and people I can count on. Ayanami…Reimei—'_

As if touching a live wire, he jerked upright, his eyes shooting open as the alarm clock sounded with piecing shrieks.

'_That's right…everyone came back from the Okinawa trip, so today's a school day as usual. I get to see Reimeiki-chan again today, in just…30 minutes? I'm going to be late again!'_

Apparently, his berserker tendencies when in EVA could be ported to more mundane tasks, as he set a personal speed record with his morning routine. Merely 5 minutes after he'd begun, he'd already brushed his teeth, showered, and changed, before dashing out the door with the temporary mantra _'Feet don't fail me now!'_

Perhaps if he had actually watched where he was going, instead of being lost in his thoughts, he would not have blundered into a familiar situation.

_CRASH! Tangle. Thud._ One again, Shinji Ikari, almighty Third Child and great Arena Fighter…had accidentally knocked someone over, though as his eyes had squeezed shut again for but a moment, he couldn't quite make out who it was. All he knew was that he was on his back, that hard concrete did not do his fragile skull any favors, and—upon reaching up, that a soft but familiar moan escaped from the other's lips.

'_I'm not being instantly pounded into the ground, so it isn't Asuka…'_

He opened his eyes gingerly to find himself paralyzed, gazing into a pair of entrancing golden orbs that bound him with how brightly they sparkled in the dawn.

"I know you're happy to see me, Ecchi-kun," the golden-eyed girl murmured playfully into Shinji's ear, her warm breath sending shivers down his spine. "But we really have to stop meeting like this."

A breathy "Reimeiki-chan" escaped his lips, along with: "N-no, I—I didn't…"

"You're cute, Ecchi-kun", she said, with a finger to his lips. Then she leaned in close and kissed him gently on the lips, intoxicating the Third Child with the softness of her skin, the sweetness of her lips, the scent of her hair… the mingled sensations drowning out his numerous fears and insecurities. Then she pulled back and smiled mischievously at him. "I'm happy to see you too."

Then the moment was over, as Lycoris took advantage of Shinji's dazed state to push up off of him and haul him upright, and before he knew it, she was not in his arms, nor were either of them on the floor. When Shinji's mind returned to him, he noticed that Lycoris had not let go of his hand, and this time, was unable to keep a smile from his face.

"So why were you walking over this way?" asked the Third Child, genuinely curious to know why she had been waiting right outside the apartment complex he lived in.

"I wanted to walk to school with you today," Lycoris replied wryly, her voice dropping to a near whisper as her tone grew fraught with mischief. "I just didn't expect you to have such ecchi plans for me so early in the morning."

"Eh-I—uh—you—uh—" _'Didn't I just promise myself I mustn't run away?'_

"Yes, I 'uh' you too, Shinji-kun," chuckled the silver-haired girl, twining her fingers with his and moving closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Having been trained in the tactics of war (and isn't love a battlefield?), Shinji responded in kind, putting an arm around her waist and holding her gently against him. "Come on, let's go to school. And maybe on the way you can tell me how your week went."

They walked together, interspersing words and comfortable silences, focusing only on the fragile solidity of their enchanted moment.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Entrance**

"WAHHHHH! WHY DOES HE GET ALL THE BABES?" howled the tracksuit-clad Touji in lamentation, his jaw slack with shock as he beseeched the heavens for an answer. Apparently, he had just caught sight of the couple in the distance, a couple still walking hand in hand, setting his nerves on edge. "Why, oh Kami-sama? Why does he have your favor even when he kills your Angels? What about me, oh Kami-sama? Where's the justice in the worl-eeee!"

"Give it a break, will you?" Kensuke replied in _sotto voce, _looking rather nervously towards the rather angry visage of Class Representative Hikari Horaki, who had stealthily infiltrated the space behind the jock so as to twist his ear in a merciless tug. _'He never learns, but then again…why is the Class Rep here? Speak of the devil...' _"Oh, Class Rep, what are you doing here?"

"I had something to discuss with Ikari-kun," the pigtailed girl answered with a sigh, herself raising a brow as she regarded Shinji and Reimeiki walking together. _'They look good together, those two…though I wonder if Rei did anything during the week we were in Okinawa.'_

"Heh," sneered a passing redhead, regarding the motley crew at the gates with a critical eye, before glaring at the Class Rep. "I wonder what you could want to talk to him about? I mean, look at the baka hentai, hanging all over poor Hakubo-san like that, as if he thinks she would enjoy such a thing. As if he has a right to, when just a few days ago, he was all over Wondergirl at the pool and the hot springs resort we went to, that disgusting pig. I mean, I know you're a little behind the times, but come on, don't tell me you're going to confess to that baka too."

Hikari flushed, but met Asuka's gaze with just as much animosity as the other displayed, neither willing to give an inch in the battle for dominance as the others looked on, backing away slightly.

"Why?" she asked at last, breaking the silence, her every word dripping with slyness. "Don't tell me that…somebody's jealous."

Asuka recoiled from the Class Rep's words as if a cat from water.

"J-_jealous_?" she frantically denied with a wave of her hands, thrown off her train of thought by a hint of blush. "Why the hell would I be jealous of that baka?"

"Jealous…of that baka?" Hikari repeated, eyes widening in a good semblance of shock and astonishment. "So that means…that means…you like girls, and you wanted to confess to me?"

"Gah! It's not like that!" the flustered redhead insisted, "You've-you've got it all wrong!"

Whether the Class Rep was wrong or not, it was the Second Child who stormed away from that encounter, her face red and steaming still, as she muttered under her breath something about revenge and how someone was projecting perverted urges onto her.

With a sigh, the pigtailed girl turned her attention back to the Idiot Duo, only to find them on their knees, bowing at her feet as they chanted:

"We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We're not—"

Hikari smiled despite herself, finding herself vaguely amused by their over-the-top antics. There was a reason she liked spending time with them, even if there were times when they could be very frustrating to deal with.

Times such as now.

"—oh great Inchou-sama. Please, teach us the secret to defeating the red devil, oh dark mistress Tomo—"

"Aida, Suzuhara…how many times have I told you not to call me by that name while we're at school," she intoned in a very low and dangerous tone of voice, her smile and sweet gaze radiating murderous intent strong enough to chill even the hearts of berserk warriors lost to their rage. "Get up, please. People might get the wrong idea about what's happening."

She reached down and was hauling them to their feet _by their ears_, when as luck would have it, it was precisely at that moment when Shinji and Lycoris came through the school gate at last, their measured gait slamming to a halt as they took in the tableau before them: Touji and Kensuke alternately bowing and cringing at Hikari's feet.

"…While I respect your lifestyle choices, Horaki-inchou, I do not believe acting out the particulars of such a violent sadomasochistic relationship is quite appropriate on school grounds," Lyrcoris teased wickedly, a twinkle in her eyes. "Even if Aida and Suzuhara both seem to enjoy their abuse at your hands, oh _dark mistress."_

Even if said only in jest, such a statement in the current company was the verbal equivalent of dropping 992 N2 Mines, wiping out their ability to defend or reply. Cue inability to speak, and mass gibbering of mouths like fish out of water. The Class Rep looked at the silver-haired girl with wide eyes in disbelief. _'Does she really know that much about my life and how I enjoy being Tomoyami?'_

"…kidding."

Both the Three Stooges and the Class Rep facefaulted in shock, Shinji accidentally pulling Lycoris down with him, so that all ended up in a tangled pile of limbs, the Child of Twilight laughing gently the entire time. Faces red from embarrassment, each of the five tried to avoid looking at the others, or having their hands brush places they shouldn't as they writhed and tried to free themselves. Suffice it to say, it took a few minutes to recover from the shock of the impromptu game of Twister, though surprisingly it was the Third Child who recovered first, his shock and awe quota already having been met for the day.

When they were all back on their feet, Hikari suddenly remembered why she had come to the gate and turned to Shinji with a mild blush, offering him her hand almost shyly.

"Eh?" came the collective gasp.

'_No way…don't tell me she's actually going to confess?' _was the thought in Touji's mind.

'_We're not worthy…Ikari-sama! What is your secret?' _was the thought in Kensuke's.

'_Somehow, I will trust that this is not what it looks like,' _was Lycoris' reaction, as Shinji very hesitantly reached out and took the Class Rep's hand.

Hikari's warm and delicate hand tightened around his for a moment—as she gave him a firm handshake and smiled.

"Congratulations on your victory, Dark Evangel. I saw a video of your match, and it was quite impressive," were the words that issued from her lips. Behind her came a loud _Thud!_ as the Idiot Duo facefaulted once again. She sighed and turned her head to look upon their faces, asking "What? Did you two think I was going to confess or something?"

But Kensuke and Touji had only blank expressions on their faces, like no one was home.

"…I think you broke them," Lycoris chuckled, now very much amused by the current situation and the misunderstandings behind it. _'It's nice to have friends, to finally not be so alone…'_

"Arrigatou, Horaki-san," the Third Child replied formally, inclining his head in acknowledgment. "I look forward to facing you in the Arena, Tomoyami."

Hearing the name of their dark mistress caused a full system reboot in the Idiot Duo's minds, but to their surprise, the Class Rep didn't start ranting and raving about how that name was not to be said on school grounds.

"Likewise…Skari," was Hikari's response, with a smile and a moment of eye contact that Touji thought lasted entirely too long. _'Not that I like the Class Rep or anything…'_

"Ahem," Lycoris coughed quietly, causing the four preoccupied ones to turn their heads as one. "If we don't go now, we're going to be late to class…or do you all want to be called up to the front for one of Aranami-sensei's demonstrations?"

That got the desired reaction, as that was a fate much worse than carrying buckets of water in the hallway. Physical labor was one thing, extreme embarrassment quite another—apparently Aranami-sensei really did know the middle school student mentality.

Without further ado, they broke into a run, dashing towards captivity, each with different thoughts in mind.

'_Why does he get to say her character name without penalty? What is his secret? Wait—__**he's **_Skari? _Heh heh…guess he does have the hots for Ayanami.' _

'_Huh…good thing that wasn't a confession. Ikari already has enough girls without needing to take the inchou—not that I'm jealous or anything, right?' _

'_Ah, so this is what Mother meant when she said watching people amused her. It is…pleasant. I guess I'm really not alone after all.'_

'…_Ikari-kun will be a strong opponent, especially with Ayanami on his side. Speaking of which, I wonder…where is Ayanami?'_

'_I don't fight for the approval of others, but…it still makes me happy, even if I have to face my friends in a virtual world.'_

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Outside Classroom 2-A **

Upon arriving at the classroom, the group of five was confronted by a still steaming redhead glaring daggers at the Class Rep. While Shinji was wondering how he could defuse the situation and the Idiot Duo were trying to see if there was a way they could get past her without grievous personal harm, Lycoris intervened.

"Hello, Soryu-san! Guten Morgen!" she greeted her friend cheerfully, distracting the redhead from her raging anger. "I heard about your Angel battle from Ikari-kun on the way to school—was it hard to fight inside a volcano?"

'_Go now!'_ she cued with her eyes, an order the others were more than willing to follow.

"Ach, nein, of course not!" boasted the (self-proclaimed) great Asuka Langley Soryu, taking the opportunity to stroke her ego. "Against me, the Angel never stood a chance…and I took it out alone, without the Invincible Shinji's upstaging me."

"The Invincible Shinji? Upstaging you? Ikari-kun's not like that…" the silver-haired girl murmured with a wistful sigh. "I'm sure he only wants to help you how he can, even if you are the best pilot, right?"

"…you really do like that baka, don't you?" Asuka asked, shaking her head as she snorted in amusement. "What do you see in him anyway?"

Tinges of pink touched the cheeks of the child of twilight, the shining girl who smiled as her eyes followed the Third Child in the distance."

"He's stronger than he looks, you know," Lycoris whispered just loudly enough for her friend to hear. "He's been hurt a lot in the past, or so I think, since he was so shy when I met him. He's gentle too—and he's a good kisser."

The last bit was thrown out there just to test the Second Child's reaction. And as expected, Asuka Langley Soryu took the bait.

"Eh? Wh-why would I care about something like that?" she said with a violent flush. "I don't care about how well that baka can kiss!" _'I mean, he's not as dull as I thought he was, but—gah! What am I thinking?' _Then she caught the smirk on her friend's face. "You're just playing with me, aren't you?"

She was saved from answering by the chime of the bell.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A **

For once, the students in class 2-A were uncharacteristically noisy without the teacher around. Having only just returned from Okinawa the day before, many were still a tad tired, while others were lost in memories, or hurrying to catch up with homework left undone. Since they had not had internet access in Okinawa (save if they stopped by an internet café), Aranami-sensei had not required them to complete a set of journal entries for the week. Thus, they had had time to watch television or enjoy other forms of media, in which they had come across an interesting bit of news.

"…Doll Syndrome," one whispered in hushed tones.

"Yeah, I heard about it too…they say it's linked to The World," added another.

"Well, C.C. Corp denies that it is, and besides, how could a video game cause an illness like that?" countered a more skeptical individual.

"Of course they'd deny it—The World is how they make money, after all. And come on, don't strange illnesses strike gamers—I mean, there were all those comas five years ago—."

The class fell silent with a hush as the door opened and their teacher, Yumi Aranami, entered the room. She scanned the room with purple eyes, looking at each face intently, as if she wanted to burn them into her memory. And then—

"Stand, Bow, Sit!" Hikari called out, and the class instantly obeyed, fearful of her wrath.

"Thank you, Class Representative," Morganna acknowledged with an enigmatic smile, every eye in the classroom now focused on her. "Now, before we begin our lecture today, there's something I'd to address…several of you have approached me with concerns about the state of your projects, so I'll give you a rare opportunity to ask what questions you would like."

A forest of hands shot up, leading Morganna to raise one of her brows.

"Ah, I see. I did not realize so many of you had questions to ask me. Well then, I'll call on you one at a time. Yes, Mr. Aida."

"Aranami-sensei, my question concerns Doll Syndrome," the bespectacled boy replied, looking his teacher in the eye. "Rumors say that it is linked to The World R:2, since all known sufferers were players of the game. Do you know anything about it? And is it safe to continue with our project?"

The woman looked at him appraisingly, as if re-evaluating his potential, and then turned to the class.

"How many of you have heard of Doll Syndrome?"

About half the class raised their hands.

"Well, in that case, let me give you the basics, and then I'll get to your question, Mr. Aida," Morganna smoothly continued, looking to each of her students in turn. "Doll Syndrome is a mysterious medical condition. From what we know, it is an illness where a child becomes unresponsive or loses vitality—becoming like dolls, in a sense."

"Heh. Is it contagious? Since I think Wondergirl's had it for years," heckled the Second Child, only to fall silent at a sharp glare from the teacher.

"This is no laughing matter, Soryu," said teacher replied, using the dangerously low tone she was known for, the one that evoked primal fears and insecurities in those who heard it, causing them to subconsciously recall their distant genetic ancestors' days as prey animals. Then her tone regained a measure of calm normality. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't make such comments about your classmates. As for whether or not it is linked to The World, I can only say that I don't know. CyberConnect Corporation denies it, but I will say this: if you do encounter something anomalous, something that makes uncomfortable, then log out immediately."

"Euh, why? Isn't The World just a game?" interjected a certain jock.

"While it is a game, I'm sure you were taught about the events of Pluto's Kiss, right?" she asked, getting nods from most. "Good, I'm glad to see that old 'Boring-sensei', as you call him, was not completely inept. It is possible that if someone inserted a virus into The World to modify its visual data, it could cause hypnotic suggestions, or otherwise stimulate the brain into seizures."

"…and what about comas?" countered Kensuke Aida, convinced that he was onto something with his current line of questioning. "Five years ago, many players of The World went into comas during the Second Network Crisis. CyberConnect Corporation blamed it on hackers, but I find myself skeptical. Doll Syndrome looks like something similar in this new version of The World, so I ask again, is The World safe for us to play?"

Morganna could only sigh, giving the bespectacled lad one of her enigmatic smiles.

"That's a good question, Mr. Aida, but that World and the one you play now are two entirely different things," she noted, dismissing his concerns in that voice so used to being obeyed. "The code for this version of The World is based on a completely different architecture than the old one, so it would be nearly impossible for the same incident to occur, ne? And didn't those victims come out of their comas, after which, there have been no such incidents. Of course, if you find the hacker named Helba, perhaps she could tell you what happened, as it is rumored that she was embroiled in the events surrounding it…but as for myself, I believe this new version should be perfectly safe to play."

She took a moment to regain her composure, before calling called upon the next questioning student.

"Moving on—Mr. Ikari, you had a question?"

"Yes," he spoke hesitantly, not wanting to antagonize in the way Kensuke had. "Who or what were the dothackers? I have heard this term before, but don't quite know what it means."

Hearing his words, Morganna froze, a look of naked terror flashing across her face for a barest instant before she forced it down, reverting to her usual icy calm.

"The dothackers…I have not heard that name for a very long time," she mused, looking first to the Third Child, and then to Lycoris. "According to the legends that spread after the Twilight Incident, they were the party that solved the final mystery of The World and ushered in a Golden Age: the age of Aura."

Another voice chose that moment to break in: that of Hikari Horaki, the Class Representative, who had also heard the term in the past.

"I heard from a strange player character something a little bit different," the pigtailed girl related. "He told me that they were The World's heroes in the time of Twilight, who fought against the Cursed Wave, when the goddess was born. Could that goddess be Aura?"

"Aura," repeated the commanding woman in black, looking distant and vulnerable as she said the name. "Aura…yes, she would be the goddess. The dothackers, you could say, were the equivalent of the three shadowed ones who quested for the Twilight Dragon—who quested for Aura. She wished… she wished to be born, to live. And yet, at the very end, she gave up her individuality to be reborn as a goddess, watching over the world…."

She smiled weakly, shaking her head.

'_Mother'_ thought Lycoris, concerned about how Morganna was taking this onslaught of questions, as well as how much of her own past would be revealed.

"I suppose you could say that the story of Aura is dear to me, and that I see her almost as a daughter. And of the dothackers, yes, they were heroes, but not because they fought the Wave without, but because they reached into themselves and overcame fear, though no one could have expected it of that motley crew. Tested by phase after phase of the Cursed Wave, they somehow triumphed where others had not…that is their true legacy, that each of you should ascribe to. They saw the demons inside each of them, and faced them without flinching, without running away. And because they had already defeated the demons inside themselves, the Wave had already lost before it could strike."

With that, Morganna concluded her slightly modified version of the truth, returning to her normal self.

"I do believe that will be all for today. For the rest of the time, please take this opportunity to catch up on any work you may have neglected before the trip to Okinawa."

Silence came once again, with some of the class thinking '_What the heck was that?_'

* * *

**Entrance, Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School**

Shinji Ikari was somewhat confused over the events of the day. Why had Aranami-sensei shown such fear upon being asked about the dothackers? Could she have been one of them long ago? And who again was Aura? He knew from what he'd heard that Aura was the goddess of The World, but how could she then be related to Reimeiki, who the mysterious Helba had referred to as the sister of the Goddess. The boy was tempted to pass it off as an example of roleplay, but he found that he couldn't, especially after his teacher had mentioned the hacker "Helba."

'_There is too much here to merely be coincidence…but I feel as if I'm still missing a piece of the puzzle. And Aranami-sensei's words, that the dothackers were heroes because they did not run away…were those meant for me?'_

He was stirred from his thoughts by a tug on his sleeve and a warm smile from Reimeiki, the mysterious girl he had fallen in love with. Looking at her, he couldn't help but to return the smile—

"Ikari-kun, you are on duty today," admonished the Class Rep from behind him, ruining the moment. "Since Ayanami is absent again, can you take her the notes from today? I have something to talk with her about too, so I'll go with you."

"Well, I guess I have no choice," Shinji replied, recalling a certain few words. "After all, I mustn't run away, right?"

"Ha! Right!" snorted Touji, who had overheard what was being asked of Shinji. "I bet you're just looking for an excuse to go over to Ayanami's so you can—eep!"

So great was the Class Rep's power that she could cow unruly jocks with a single glare.

"You two go home," she sighed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "And if you miss the Arena Match tonight, you are going to suffer. I did not go through the trouble of training you so you could back out on me."

"R-Right, understood," the two answered in unison, before tramping off to parts unknown.

Seeing this, the party of three walked on towards their destination, and when they were out of eye and earshot, Hikari Horaki turned to Shinji and raised a curious brow.

"So how do you know about the dothackers?" she asked him, "Could it be that you were summoned by the strange player called Rumor?"

Shinji's eyes widened with recognition, as he recalled the many instances in which he had encountered the diminutive Harvest Cleric, usually by the side of the one who announced herself alternatively as Helba or Tsukinoki.

"You mean, you've seen Rumor too?" he asked quizzically. "Was it...was it in the company of Helba?"

"No, he called Ayanami and I out to the Keel Mountains and spoke to us about a new threat to the…" Hikari's voice trailed off as the implications of Shinji's second question finally sank in. "You mean you've actually met Helba, the infamous queen of hackers?"

"—because of me," Lycoris quietly interjected, looking down at the ground. She took a deep breath as the others turned to her questioningly. "She was my guardian a long time ago, after my mother died and my father abandoned me. You see…I was an unwanted child."

'_An unwanted child?' _thought Hikari, _'What a terrible fate to suffer…'_

"So Helba took care of you?" the pigtailed girl asked, her expression softer than it had been. "Is she still watching over you now, when you are here in Tokyo-3?"

"That was in the past, I'm afraid," she replied simply. "For several years, she watched over me and my sister both, until my sister… grew up, and I came to Tokyo-3."

"Reimeiki-chan…Helba said that you, at least the you in The World, were the sister to Aura," Shinji said distantly. "And back on the day I met you, Rumor said something about you becoming Aura. What did they mean by that?"

The silver-haired girl stiffened, jerking to a halt.

"Reimeiki-chan?"

Shinji turned around to find Lycoris shaking in place as silent tears streamed down her alabaster cheeks.

'_Oh god…I completely forgot…when Rumor asked her if she could take Aura's place, she broke down in tears!'_

"Reimeiki-chan?" "Reimeiki-san?" two voices spoke in unison, rushing to her side as the silver-haired girl collapsed to her knees.

"…hold me," she whispered in a hollow voice. "Just hold me."

Unable to refuse her, Shinji and Hikari both crouched down and put their arms around the shaken young girl, comforting her as best they could through touch, as the girl buried herself between them, letting out years of pain remembered once again.

"Reimeiki-san…we're here for you," the Class Rep said simply. "We're your friends, of course we'll hold you."

"Reimeiki-chan…I don't know what happened to you in your past," Shinji said after a small eternity, "but here and now…"

'_I told myself I wouldn't run away anymore, so I have to keep that promise…'_

Flushing like the concentrated essence of a thousand cherry tomatoes, the Third Child found the strength to continue.

"Here and now, you have people who care about you. People who look up to you. People who respect you. People who love you, for who you are—not who you are like and who you might become. You told me once that in this world, everyone is blessed, Reimeiki-chan…the same holds for you as well. So you're not Aura, so you can't become Aura…I don't care about that. I don't care about who you might have been or could not become…

"Wha? You don't care about…" she sniffled, her tears slowing as she looked at him in wonder.

"No, I don't care, because that's not why I love you! I love you because…because of your of your good heart, because unlike me, you don't run away from things, because of everything you are and everything you've changed in me, Reimeiki-chan. So don't be ashamed of who you are…don't run away from being the person I love."

"The person you…love," she repeated, blinking a couple of times and regaining some of her spirit. "And what do you mean you run away from things? You're right here…"

A tentative hand touched Shinji's face, as the silver haired girl leaned close to him and kissed him gently on the lips, eliciting a gasp from a tomato-faced Hikari Horaki.

"You two…you're really serious about each other," she pigtailed girl sighed, wearing a lopsided smile on her lips. "I'm kind of jealous…"

"Hm?" asked Lycoris as Shinji helped her to her feet. "Jealous of…?"

The silver-haired girl looked between the Third Child and her friend, raising an eyebrow.

"No no no, not of you Reimeiki-san," the Class Rep corrected nervously, hoping she hadn't gotten the wrong idea. "I just wish…I had someone like that."

"But don't you go on in-world dates with Suzuhara-kun all the time?" Lycoris asked pointedly.

"Its not like that!" Hikari cried, blushing furiously once again.

The three looked at each other and laughed, the tension from before evaporating. And around them, the sky was tending towards sunset once again, a truly beautiful time of day.

"Oh…wait, we needed to get printouts to Ayanami," Hikari suddenly remembered. "Let's hurry before it gets dark!"

* * *

**Apartment 402**

As the trio approached the apartment building, they found themselves somewhat unnerved by how broken down the place was, with the racket of construction equipment everywhere.

'_Ayanami-san lives…in a place like this?' _Hikari asked herself. If so, that would explain why the blue-haired girl had been so puzzled by her own room. _'How can anyone—much less a girl—deal with these living conditions?'_

"Ikari-kun," she inquired of the one person who she thought might know. "Why is Ayanami-san living here instead of somewhere…nicer?"

"I…don't know," the Third Child replied, furrowing his brow in thought. "Maybe she was ordered to, and never questioned why."

"Hm…that does sound like Ayanami-san," Hikari admitted, feeling slightly out of sorts around this place. "You seem to know exactly where her place is…have you been here before?"

"Once," Shinji admitted, a light blush creeping onto his cheeks under cover of darkness. "I had to deliver her new ID card."

Of course, that short explanation omitted the details of what had happened during that particular incident, especially accidental groping, but he doubted that would go over well, so he kept silent. After just a little while longer, the trio finally arrived at the door. _'Not that it one could miss it…this is the only occupied unit in the entire complex.'_

"You've visited her, but not me?" asked Lycoris, mock-pouting. "Should I be jealous at the thought of you two doing naughty things together?"

"I-uh-I," began Shinji, only for the silver-haired girl to stop his gibbering with a kiss.

"Just kidding."

As proper as ever, Hikari knocked on the door three times and waited for a reply. But just as when Shinji had come to visit, there was no response.

"Oh well," said Shinji, putting his hand on the doorknob and twisting. "Ayanami, I'm coming in."

"Eh? Its unlocked?" asked Hikari. "Should we be entering her apartment without permission?"

"It wasn't locked last time either," the Third shrugged. "Besides, she won't read them if we don't put them in her room."

He gestured at the overflowing mail slot, crammed full of junk mail and papers.

"…you might have a point there," the Class Rep conceded.

The door creaked open, as in need of repair as anything else, and the three entered the room, seeing nothing out of place except—

"AYANAMI? AYANAMI? Are you all right?" Shinji shouted frantically, racing over to her side.

The blue haired girl was lying on the floor, as if she'd fallen from her chair, her M2D headset for playing The World still on her head. Her form was still, leaden, unmoving save for very shallow breaths. With shaking hands, the Third Child tugged the headset from Rei's head, only for his heart to lurch at the sight of her crimson eyes frozen open in shock, wide and unseeing.

_'Her hands...they're so cold...'_

As the Class Rep knelt besides her friend, checking for pulse and any visible injuries, Lycoris instead quickly checked the scene for clues as to what could have happened. As Rei Ayanami was now seemingly unresponsive and had apparently been wearing her M2D headset when she collapsed, the Child of Twilight already suspected the worst. Still, she had to confirm it with her eyes, and so steeling herself, the silver-haired girl looked over away from her friend to the computer on the desk, her heart freezing in her chest as she saw an instance of _The World: R2_ open but blacked out, with the words

'**SYSTEM ERROR'**

in bold white across the screen.

"Stop," Lycoris whispered tonelessly, as all eyes turned to her. "I know what this is…she's fallen into a coma. Horaki-san…call the hospital…please."

'_The Twilight is happening all over again…'_

"R-right away, Reimeiki-san."

"But how—" asked Shinji, eyes wide and unbelieving.

"—because it happened to me five years ago, that's why."

Aside from the rattling of the construction equipment, everything else was silence.

"You mean…"

"I was a victim of that crisis Aranami-sensei mentioned, just as she herself was. I can only think the same is happening again, that Ayanami's consciousness is trapped within the network," the silver-haired girl said woodenly, eyes unfocused as she drifted far into the past. "This…is Doll Syndrome."

"No…it can't be…" Shinji breathed, reaching out to shake Ayanami's fallen form, even as his own was wracked with sobs. "No, Ayanami, please… wake up! Please, don't leave…Please…I'll…ah…ah…ah…Ayanami! **AYANAMI!**"


	31. Logout 13: Diffuse Extrapolation

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Diffuse Extrapolation**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Horaki Residence**

_Tick-tock-tick-tock!_ The second hand spun round and round, as time speeds and spurts and dribbles on, each fragment spiraling out of reach into oblivion. _Tick-tock-tick-tock!_

_Inhale. Exhale._ Darkness. _Ba-dump, ba-dump!_ Twin heartbeats in a barren room, frozen by the weight of unsaid thoughts and memories, false assurances of normality jarred aside by an earlier discovery in the night: the truth of Doll Syndrome.

The house was quiet, with the curtains drawn and lights turned off, and save for the nearly nonexistent movements of life, it was almost completely still. Most rooms were empty, bereft of any human presence, others housed family already gone to sleep, but in one room stirred two figures seated back to back trembling, taking comfort in the fact the other was there. Since they were not affiliated with NERV, they had not been allowed into NERV Medical, where their friend was currently laying in a coma, and so they had retreated to a place to try and collect their thoughts.

"I never expected anything like this could happen from playing a game," whispered one of the seated shadows, her voice lacking any of the confidence or poise it commanded in the daylight. "But you knew all along…why didn't you tell me about this?"

A heartfelt sigh came after moments of leaden silence, as the other spoke at last, silver hair covering her eyes as she drooped her head in shame.

"And if I had, would you have believed me?" she asked with a rueful chuckle. "Or would you have just thought I was making a bad joke?"

"…probably the latter of the two," the first allowed, managing a weak smile of her own. "Still, I wish I'd known, just so I could have done something."

"I thought the threat had gone since many years ago, except for a vague rumor…" Lycoris hesitated, shaking her head before continuing. "It was at the time, a rumor I didn't want to believe because it brought up some fairly traumatic memories—memories of when I nearly died five years ago."

The words of the silver-haired Child of Twilight gave pause to the middle Horaki sister, who paled and silently repeated what she had said, as if trying to make sense of the mad world she found herself thrust into all too suddenly.

"You nearly died?" she managed to say at last. "What happened?"

"A powerful malevolence deep within The World awoke, in that place that was like a second home to me," Lycoris recalled, delving into the parts of her memory that were not too painful to relate. "A shadow stalked me, pursued me, defeated me, scattering my consciousness throughout The World. My body lay sleeping until after the final battle, when light overcame the shadow—when my sister gave up her life to save everyone else."

"Your sister…" Hikari murmured, eyes widening as she remembered the question that had made her friend break down in tears. "You mean…Aura."

Only a lone tear this time at the sound of that name, the name of a girl who had become the Goddess of The World and more, and yet had given up even that to let humanity choose its own path.

"Yes…Aura," the Child of Twilight whispered, eyes glazing over in memory. "The other who was watched over by Helba in those dark times, who alongside the legendary Kite of the dothackers, defeated the Cursed Wave. There were monsters then that would startle even you, ones so strong as to embody human fears and deceptions: the phases themselves. It was truly a time of twilight, with salvation or destruction at the whim of those who strove…they never gave up, and one day, the Lost Ones came back."

Confirmation of an unwanted truth could be a terrifying thing for someone already reeling from having seen and heard too much.

'_She's strong…much stronger than I am. To have faced that sort of danger and moved past it—to still be in The World…'_

"…I want to ask you something, Reimeiki-san," the pigtailed girl said suddenly, stirring from her thoughts. "After everything you've been through, and everything you've lost, how do you have the courage to face The World again?"

"Because it is my home," the other said absentmindedly, smiling unexpectedly. "Because it is a place where my sister's presence lives on, and because I have so many memories of life there. For me, its no different than asking the question of how people get up every morning, managing to cross streets, go to work, greet people, even knowing they might be hurt. Simply put, The World is my bond, to my vanished sister, to my friends, to my past, and to all humanity."

"You're strong, Remeiki-san," came the soft reply. "Because…I don't know if I can face going into The World again, not after seeing what happened to Ayanami."

A muffled _'hmph' _as the silver-haired girl placed a comforting hand on one of her friend's and squeezed.

"You're stronger than you think, Hikari-san," murmured the Child of Twilight, with a wry twist of her lips. "Besides, didn't you tell Aida and Suzuhara that you expected to see them online for the Arena Match tonight? They trust you to come because you've told them you will, as you trust them."

The pigtailed girl's free hand flew to her mouth as she gasped in shock.

"Oh no, what if something happens to them?" she said in a panicked rush. "What should I do?"

"Go to them," the other said simply. "Even if there is something that can put someone into a coma, to do so, it must defeat that someone first. And you, Tomoyami of the Shadow, have too much pride to be easily beaten. What sensei said in class today holds true, that if there is something very wrong, then log out immediately—or even just switch off the power. As long as the shadow doesn't overcome your will to fight, you will be ok."

"Can you promise me that?" the Class Rep asked, before relenting a moment later. "No, I don't suppose you can…it is my path to walk, right? My choice to make."

"One you've already made, even if you're afraid—because I know you, Hikari Horaki. You would never abandon a friend, would you?"

"…No, I wouldn't."

_RIIING!_ The saddening sound of a cell phone ringing caused the two to jump apart with a violent start, even as the pigtailed girl snatched it up and answered.

"Hello?" she asked, not quite prepared for what she heard next.

"_Hello, Ms. Hikari Horaki._ I presume your friend Reimeiki is with you as well?" spoke a mysterious voice from the other end.

"…Who is this?"

"_The one you have sought,"_ came the vaguely amused reply. _"You know of me as Helba…"_

**

* * *

NERV Medical**

'_A too familiar ceiling'_ Shinji thought to himself, glancing at the perfectly smooth surface in question, one painted in that clinically pale shade of white that mirrored the poisonous white of arsenic. _'Do hospitals really make people feel better? Or are they just a way to quarantine the suffering away from the world?'_

Having been in NERV Medical too many times before, he wondered about that, and more specifically, how anyone could take comfort in the extremely utilitarian rooms of steel-gray and white there. But this time, it wasn't his injury that brought him to this place. No, it was the fact that Rei Ayanami, someone dear to him, had somehow fallen into a coma—and he hadn't been there to protect her in the way she had always protected him.

"She risked her life for me during the Fifth Angel battle, and she's saved me so many times," he murmured quietly into the darkness of the room. "And this time…what am I going to do? I don't know how this happened or how to bring her back."

It was Rei Ayanami's usual room in NERV Medical, one dark and bereft of warmth as any of the others, with the fallen form of the first laying on the sole bed, chest rising and falling as she slept on, medical equipment scattered around her, monitoring things like her heartbeat and her brain waves. Perhaps 'twas her fate to be here, hooked up to machinery to sustain her existence, given that she was somewhat of an artificial human, but…she was not alone.

Standing by the side of her bed was the Third Child, Shinji Ikari. He looked down upon her sleeping face, holding one of her hands in one of his, as if to anchor himself there, as if trying to tell her that she was not alone. Her hands were soft, almost delicate as she slept, without a trace of the strength she had when waking. How fragile she seemed, how vulnerable…it almost broke his heart.

"Ayanami…" he whispered, his free hand moving to stroke her alabaster cheeks. "Ayana—"

Just then, the door opened, another figure coming in halfway—and stopping cold at the sight she saw. Only for a moment though, as in the next, Shinji found himself being ripped away from the First Child's side and slammed into a wall.

_BANG!_ His vision flashed white as his head made contact with the wall. When it recovered, he found his gaze resting on clear blue eyes in an angry face, framed by the dreaded locks of auburn hair.

'_I mustn't run away. I mustn't run awa…eh, who am I kidding? Asuka's going to kill me!'_

"Eh? Anta Baka?" ranted and raved the redhead, sputtering and starting in his face. "I came by after a sync test to…check on Wondergirl, and here you are just taking advantage of her in her sleep? I mean, that's what she deserves for being so much like a wind-up doll, but still, that's despicable, you hentai!"

"A-Asuka, that wasn't what it looked like—"

Somehow, he found it hard to continue when two strong hands grabbed his shirt and started shaking him, instead gulping as a glare of death washed over him.

"Wasn't what it seemed like?" she repeated menacingly. "I know what I saw, you verdammen pervert! Putting your hands all over her comatose body—is that what you want to do with Hakubo-san too? Do you just like dolls or something, dolls that you can do anything—_mmph!_"

Her eyes widened in extreme shock, as in a heartbeat, her angered words were strangled by a pair of lips on hers. Had he actually dared to kiss her? He-he-that pervert…or worse yet, could she have kissed _him?_

'_Maybe he isn't so dull after all…NO. GAH! What am I thinking?'_

"Mmph_!" Shove! _Then the _crack! _of an armor-piercing slap rent the sterile silence of the room, the force of it turning Shinji's head and staining his cheeks with red.

"B-b-BAKA!" sputtered Asuka Langley Soryu, her face the Third Child's own unique shade of embarrassed tomato red. "Wh-What the hell are you doing? You're despicable…you say you're with Hakubo-san but you're all over Wondergirl, and then you try to take advantage of me? I'll show—_mmph!_"

As if to take refuge in audacity, once again, her words were cut off by a kiss.

'_ANTA BAKA?' _she thought, even though other parts of her mind were nagging at her about _'But I didn't see him move'_, _'He really does kiss well', _and _'If he kissed you, why is he the one being forced up against a wall?'_

After several moments of shock, she pulled herself away, turning her face in a failed attempt to hide her luminescent blushing.

"I—I won't forgive you!" she shouted as she burst out the door and ran, her footsteps growing more and more distant by the second.

'_She didn't slap me again?'_

Needless to say, Shinji's mind was now undergoing a cold restart to recover from the minor Blue Screen of Death it had crashed into. Aside from the fact that he still couldn't swim too well, one might have confused him with a fish due to the expression on his face, like one of those aforementioned animals gulping when stranded.

'_What…just…happened…Asuka…lips…she'll really kill me…'_

"That was well handled, Playboy-kun," teased a voice from the shadows.

"What? Who?" the Third Child managed as he turned to look at the doorway, the tension seeping out of him when he was that it was simply the ever-personable Maya Ibuki, smiling at him with sad eyes. "Oh, you startled me, Ibuki-san."

"Hello, Ikari-kun," the mousy brunette greeted him, glancing from him to the comatose Ayanami, to the hallway down which Asuka had run away. "I came by to check on Ayanami-san and see how you were holding up. I didn't expect Pilot Soryu to come by, or for her to run away like that. Did something happen between you two?"

"I—that is—uh—"

"Hehe, you're fun to tease, Ikari-kun," the bridge bunny giggled, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Just like Katsuragi-san says." Then her face grew solemn as she reached out, touching his shoulder in concern. "Rumor has it that you found Ayanami-san collapsed in her apartment, that she had somehow fallen into a coma while playing The World. Is that really true?"

"…yeah," sighed the Third Child, looking down at the floor in despair. "Reime—someone close to me called it 'Doll Syndrome', saying that it was linked to an incident from five years ago."

"Five years ago…when anxiety and fear passed the breaking point," Maya answered enigmatically, as if remembering something. "During the events of the Second Network Crisis, when technology failed us."

"You know about it, Ibuki-san?" he asked, curious for more information.

"I work for Dr. Akagi programming the MAGI, remember?" she pointed out, her tone much gentler than Askua's had been. "I like computers, and five years ago, The World and Doll Syndrome was all over the news, when many people went into comas, almost all later waking up at the same time."

'_At the same time…as if a root cause had been eliminated…'_

"…do you know what caused it?" Shinji questioned, eyes intent and almost harsh, causing the bridge tech to take a step back instinctively. "Or how those in comas were brought back?"

Maya looked away from him, her expression pensive.

"I think the answer to that question can only be found within The World," she said after some thought. "I…don't much like fighting or violence, but if you want to bring her back, you'll have to fight just like you're in the Eva again."

"To…fight?" the Third Child repeated uncertainly. But before he could ask anything else, Maya was already back in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Ikari-kun, but I have to go," she demurred. "There's always so much paperwork to finish after an Angel battle. Take care of Ayanami-san…and ask yourself, how much do you want to bring her back?"

With that, she vanished, leaving Shinji alone in the room with the comatose Rei Ayanami once more. As if drawn to her, he walked back to her side and took her hand in his.

'_What should I do, Ayanami?'_

**

* * *

**

**Commander Ikari's Office, NERV HQ**

"…"

A shadowy figure sat within a cavernous room, walls, floor, ceiling—all black with silver streaks, his posture mimicking that of a raptor perched within the branches of the Tree of Sephiroth, peering callously down upon his prey. His face was as a stone slate without emotion, eyes hidden behind orange lenses, the lines between skin and darkness blurred by rough unshaven facial hair.

All that could really be seen of him was that he was looking straight at the figure before him, with his white gloved hands steeped before him, as if her were an disdainful autocrat within the inner sanctum of his domain (which, he was).

"…I see," rumbled the dark one. "Explain, Dr. Akagi."

Before him stood Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, head scientist of NERV and Director of Project E. Like her mother before her, the bottle blond was a genius when it came to technology, with a strong dedication to her work and a stoic, detached attitude that allowed her to do what many more squeamish individuals could not. Even so, she disliked having to be the bearer of bad news to Gendo Ikari, especially when it involved his favorite—doll.

"At 1700 hours today, the First Child was discovered in a comatose condition by the Third," the blond scientist summarized from the report she had prepared. "She was brought to NERV Medical, where she was examined. The examination revealed no signs of physical injury, but her higher mental functions seem to have shut down. It is unknown when or even whether she will awaken."

"Unacceptable," came the brusque reply, emotionless as always. "Wait for the Third Child to leave, then dispose of the second, and activate Rei III."

'_The situation is deviating from the scenario…'_

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga, Sea of Data**

"…hear me? Can you hear me, Rumor?"

Hearing a concerned voice drift through the darkness around him, the consciousness residing there began to awaken. Blurred impressions of something momentous sped past him, as he caught but glimpses of the world of past.

Shadows. Flames. Dark laughter. Seven eyes. A figure in white protecting him with her death. Escape.

'_Someone is calling me, but where am I? What happened to me? I feel strangely disconnected from my body…'_

"Open your eyes if you can hear me, Rumor," the voice came again, and this time, his body obeyed, casting him into a sea of light. He was momentarily blinded before his optical receptors compensated for the drastic change, and adjusted themselves properly.

"Where am—I'm back in Net Slum," the young boy realized, examining his surroundings. As he suspected, the one who had called to him was the one named Tsukinoki, the Sorceress in White and Queen of the Dark. But how had he returned? The last thing he remembered was—

(_Begin flashback)_

"_The Eyes of Helba," intoned a vaguely lyrical voice from across the vaulted room, belonging to a grey haired youth in silver and black robes, a Macabre Dancer holding a set of silver fans with seven eyes embossed on each._

_The trio so acknowledged looked intently at the figure before them, drawing their weapons and stepping forward in challenge, footsteps echoing one after another._

_With a soft chime, an orb of golden light appeared, revealing the form of Rumor, whose eyes were fixed upon the enigmatic one named Siarl._

"_What are your intentions?" he questioned, gripping his staff firmly. There was no playfulness in his eyes now, simply a sense of focused curiosity. "If you do not have business with us, we have a pressing matter to take care of."_

"_Oh?" the other commented, not even bothering to hide his disdain. "I'm afraid I cannot let you go in there just yet."_

_The Obsidian Knights readied their weapons with an audible clang, taking an offensive stance and staring down the Macabre Dancer in black and silver._

"_Heh." Not intimidated, the Macabre Dancer simply raised an eyebrow, flicking open his fans, as living shadows began to pulse around his form._

'_It can't be…another AIDA-PC!'_

"_Rumor…retreat," ordered Melchior as the three stepped forward, breaking from a canter to an all out charge, and—_

_Darkness._

(End Flashback)

—the unending wave of darkness that sped from…Siarl of the Seven Eyes. "How did I…no…what happened to Melchior and the other Obsidian Knights? Was Siarl defeated, at least?"

"You should be more concerned with yourself, dear Rumor," sighed the Queen of the Dark, who was for once without her staff, ruffling his hair affectionately. "When Balthasar and Casper returned to Net Slum with your broken body, your core data was already rapidly degenerating due to the effects of AIDA invasion."

"You were able to recover my lost data and restore me, then?" the small silver haired boy asked of her. "And Melchior? You did not mention her."

But the Queen of the Dark merely shook her head with sorrow.

"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple, Rumor," she replied after a slight hesitation. "You may have noticed that you are not talking at all in third-person form. This is because much of your data, including some of your personality matrix and your character data, was irrevocably damaged. I have managed to slow the decay by eliminating the rogue elements within your code and grafting what remained onto a new character, but I'm afraid that some of your functions have been lost."

"…in other words, I have lost most of the power possessed by a Vagrant AI, correct?" he questioned, raising one of his brows experimentally. His new character seemed about as useful as the old, except without the direct data grid access he once enjoyed. "In any case, I am indebted to you once again, my Queen."

"Not at all, old friend," the Sorceress in White continued, beckoning him to join her for a short walk through the streets, a request with which he willingly complied. "You asked what happened to the Obsidian Knights, correct?"

"Yes, this is so," the boy replied, examining his new body at a mirror on one of the buildings. Apparently, he remained a small boy, but his garments and features had changed somewhat, likely due to his data decaying. His clothes had shifted from robes to white Japanese-styled clothing, secured with a blue obi, and his eyes were now a golden color, while his hair had been slightly cropped. And instead of a whirlpool staff, he now carried an oversized fan on his back, concealing his true nature as a warrior.

"It is only natural that you would wish to see your new body. It is actually fairly close to what your old one looked like, save for a minor wardrobe variation. Now, take these," murmured the Sorceress in White, tossing him two objects: a staff like a frozen whirlpool, and a glowing green-blue diamond with a small pulsating sphere inside. "I know they're not much, but I believe these belong to you."

"…Thank you, my Queen," Rumor replied as he caught both of the items and put them away into his inventory. "So you troubled yourself even to save these…"

"Don't mention it, Rumor, I'm only sorry I couldn't do more," Tsukinoki said with some regret, looking towards Mac Anu in the distance. "As for the others…when Balthasar and Casper returned, they too were extremely battered, with code fragments evaporating from their cybernetic shells. They are currently undergoing regeneration in the sea of data. Melchior…didn't make it. Her program was completely destroyed/corrupted save for a few data remnants, which I managed to salvage."

"So Melchior…"

"Among the data remnants was a recording of the last battle—I'll share it with you."

_(Play data file)_

"_Rumor…retreat," _ordered Melchior as the three stepped forward, breaking from a canter to an all out charge, and then—

Darkness.

But only for a moment, as a figure in white sprung forward, taking the blow onto herself as she let momentum carry her into striking range, as—

_**Clang! **_

__—was the sound of bayonet clashing against dual fans.

"_How spirited, to think there is a being that can overcome the life geas to protect another," _intoned the lyrical voice of the enemy Macabre Dancer_. "But I'm afraid this is the end!"_

Three powerful slashes of shadow, as one-two were blocked, but not the third, passing through the Steam Gunner's defenses, staggering her to her knees.

"_Hahahaha…it would seem that not even the eyes of Queen of the Dark can stand against me, I who am merely a servant of another power,"_ he smirked, stepping past Melchior's broken form and raising his hands_. "Now then, let's try this, shall we?"_

Darkness once more, crowding out vision, preventing escape with searing pain, like a thousand fanged claws ripping at data. The other Obsidian Knights tried to defend as best they could, while Rumor fruitlessly cast spells against it—only for their attempts to fail, for the darkness to come ever closer to the core of their code when—

_**Squelch!**_

"_The shadowless ones are more spirited than I had imagined," _Siarl noted calmly, an unusual reaction to a blade sticking out of the middle of his chest. Melchior had somehow managed to stand, focusing enough willpower to rise and stab her enemy in the back, though her data was already degenerating.

"_Rumor, run," _ordered the Steam Gunner, even as she stood on her last legs. _"I will hold Siarl here, so retreat! The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the—"_

_**Clang! Crash! Whoosh! **_A storm of blades rent the air, whirling, clashing, dueling with a fury matched only by an Eva gone berserk.

"_Do you really think this cheap resistance matter?"_ questioned the black and silver Macabre Dancer, as he moved to the rhythm of an unseen melody, _"Your program is_ _decaying, your fellow Eyes of Helba blinded, and her herald mortally wounded. What do you think you can achieve with this pointless sacrifice?"_

Melchior spared but a moment to glance at her comrades as she threw everything she had into a last supreme defense.

"_Go!"_

Riings of golden light obscured the field from view.

_(End data file)_

"She sacrificed herself…" Rumor blinked, almost disbelieving as a tear trickled down a cheek. "But…why?"

Below him, the giant tortoise Tartarga stirred, voicing his thoughts for the first time in a while.

"Melchior…was the most logical of the Knights," the AI rumbled. "She sacrificed herself that you and her other knights might return to tell our Queen of this, old friend. You have seen her nature, always first to attack, last to retreat in the fight against the shadows. If she had lived, perhaps she would have made an ideal dothacker…"

"Indeed," solemnly spoke the Queen of the Dark. "I would have preferred not to involve children in our struggle once again, but with the new events that have transpired, we cannot wait any longer. It is time to resurrect the age of legends…to call forth the new dothackers, Rumor…or should I refer to you by the name of your new form, Zelkova?"

* * *

**NERV Medical**

Various pieces of medical equipment rasped and beeped and hissed in an otherwise barren room, a room insignificant except for the fact that it housed the comatose body of Ayanami Rei, along with the brown haired boy weeping at her side.

'_Why did this have to happen?' _he had asked himself repeatedly. _'Why—after I had just seen her smile again, when she had just begun to come out of her shell?'_

With the blue-haired girl just lying on the hospital bed, it was tempting—no, beyond tempting—to believe that she was simply sleeping, so easy to believe that today had simply been a bad dream. But if it were a nightmare, would Asuka have kissed him? (Maybe) Would Ibuki-san have dropped by to check on him? (Probably not)

'_So it has to be real…and Ibuki-san said that the reason Ayanami is like this is within The World,'_ he thought. Yes, it would be simple enough to avoid The World, given what had already happened—Aranami-sensei was sure to accept his excuse, but—

'_But I can't run away, and besides I'm not going to worry about myself, since no matter what, Reimeiki-chan will be going back into The World," _he resolved, recalling his words at the Arena just the day before_. 'A samurai, I called myself. That I would see things through to the end, I told myself. I suppose…I'll have to fight.'_

His expression was sorrowful but determined as he bent down next to the blue-haired girl's ear and whispered:

"I'll bring you back, Ayanami, whatever it takes. I owe you my life many times over, and I'm not going to let some nameless power just take you away. I'll save you…I promise you that."

With a sigh, he began to lift his head—and accidentally sealed his promise with a secret kiss, a simple brush of lips serving as a favor from his fallen friend.

'_What are we to each other, Ayanami? Friends? Something more? I don't think I even know myself, but one way or another, I'll save you, so we can figure it out…together."_

"Pilot Ikari—visiting hours are over," came a voice from the doorway once again, a nurse who had come by. "You can come again tomorrow, if you wish."

"Understood," he replied, taking a last look at the mysterious waif upon the bed and smiling sadly, before turning to go. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ayanami…"

He proceeded out of the hospital leadenly, movement ragged and slow as his mind whirled on furiously, thinking of all the times he'd spent with the First Child, of all the incidents they'd been through, and the way she had told him that she would protect him. _'It's my turn now…my turn to protect you.'_

But it seemed that this would not be a day for him to think in peace, as the faint strains of Pachebel's Canon in D interrupted him. _'My ringtone…but who would be calling me?'_

He picked up the phone, accepting the call—and then nearly dropped it in shock at the words that he heard.

"Greetings, Skari, slayer of Angels. This is Helba…"

* * *

**Arena, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth **

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed out into the gathered crowds, with the Commentator being the most hyped of any member of the crowd. Perhaps he really was a fan of PvP, or perhaps he was over-enthused because he believed he would be promoted soon. Either way, his over the top attitude did add something to the experience. "It's the final match of the first rounds of the Holy Palace Tournament. And would you believe, today's guest is…the mysterious Ovan!"

From her vantage point on the observation gallery, Lycoris' golden eyes flicked to the Steam Gunner who stood next to the Commentator, a man dressed mostly in blue tones, with traces of leather scattered throughout his outfit—offset by a pair of orange sunglasses and a huge metal cylinder on his left arm. A veritable man of mystery, he was not often seen in public spaces of The World, becoming more famous for his long absences and quiet nature than for any accomplishment. An old friend who had come closer to the truth of The World than most…but a distant man, who was, as always, an enigma.

'_I feel the presence of The Rebirth from within him, but also something…other,'_ the Child of Twilight frowned, looking at the locked metal cylinder with dark foreboding. '_That cylinder…manifested with Corbenik's power…why would he seal a portion of himself within it?'_

"Those who wish victory must get stronger," the Steam Gunner intoned with a wave of calm. "They must consume all happiness and sadness, and use that as a stepping stone with which to surpass their limits."

"I…see," continued the Commentator, momentarily nonplussed, though he managed to rev himself back to a frenzied state of excitement as rings of azure light flared into existence on the platforms above the floating isle in Arena's center, signaling the arrival of the combatants.

"Both teams have now entered the Arena!" bellowed the rather enthusiastic man. "We have with us today the fearsome shadows of the wasteland, demons of the sea, the personification of the night: the mighty Team Aida!"

A hushed murmur spread over the crowd as once again, the rings of light sprung up, bearing a certain Flick Reaper, Shadow Warlock, and Tribal Grappler to the floating isle of battle.

"Tomoyami of the Shadow, one of the fiercest Chaotic PKs in all of The World, is joined here by Aruna and Arano, famed helpers to The World's newcomers, the Invincible Perverts!"

The Shadow Warlock Arano, a little blond boy clad in a fool's ensemble, with jester's cap, breeches, and other similar vestments, glared at the other member of the so-called 'Invincible Perverts.' Normally, he was not the sort to look too angry, maintaining a measure of dignity, but up until now, he had been unaware of the nickname he and his companion shared-probably due to his companion's antics.

Whisper(to Aruna): "This is all your fault, Aruna! Did you really have to hit on all those low-level PKs the other day at that field with the erotic name? I swear that if we lose here, I'm going to turn you into a cripple for real, and-what the…you're doing it again!"

'_He really is the Propagation, isn't he?'_

Tribal Grappler Aruna, a tall, dark-skinned, powerfully built man, dressed in an extravagant outfit which leaves his lower legs and most of his chest bare, merely smiled and waved to all the lovely ladies in the crowd, reveling in the attention he never received in the real world.

Whisper (to Arano): "I told you, I can't help it. They were babes, you know! Absolute babes!"

They froze with a sharp glance from their team leader, Tomoyami of the Shadow, the name of who was known and feared throughout The World as one of the strongest Chaotic PKs. Her appearance was simple but elegant, with her tall, slender form clad in a flowing white dress with a blue underskirt. Her rather deadly looking weapon, Heine's Zero, a scythe like a demon's claw, marked her as one of the few who had ever defeated the Doppelganger. And it was rumored that anyone who came close enough in a field to see the sigil of darkness upon her pale face would be slain by the Goddess of Death, the Unyielding Shadow.

'_I did promise them I'd be here, and apparently Helba wishes for me to show my strength by facing my fears in battle before she will meet me,' _she mused, scythe at the ready as always. _'Very well…I shall not lose here today…at least, not if these two have learned anything from our trainings…'_

"Opposing them today is the tournament's dark horse team, who no one knows much about," the Commentator announced, "the one and only—Hetero Team!"

'_Hetero Team'_ the three thought in unison, looking at each other as the other team materialized. They were the Hetero Team, imposing figures all, each possessing a rather futuristic look. Mostly monochrome in black and white, the members of this team wore white trenchcoats over black bodysuits. Two of them, Axanthic and Leucistic, were completely monochrome down to their Lance Snakes, while their leader, Hetero himself, possessed the one bit of color on the team, with his green eyes and flaming red hair offsetting the darkness of his Scythe Hidaru.

"Trenchcoats galore, is it? What is this, the Matrix?" the Commentator shouted out into the crowd. "Today, the past faces off against the future – a PK and Newbie-Helpers against three unknown ronin, magic and fist against cold hard steel. Ladies and Gentlemen, and everyone else, are you ready? Let the match begin!"

"_**Reaper's Dance!"**_ invoked the leaders of both teams, one from above and one from below, their viciously spinning Scythes colliding in mid-air with a jarring clang.

"So, _you _are the Chaotic PK Tomoyami!" Hetero said with a grin. "It's a honor to face you once again!"

Round came the Scythe Hidaru with viciously quick speed, blocking and striking at his foe, only for the tremendously skilled opponent to counter—using his own momentum to spin around the haft of his weapon, and deliver a vicious kick to the kidneys. Hetero stumbled back to ground, barely rolling out of the way of the demon's claw that raked the stone nearby.

"After you lost to me once? I didn't think you had the nerve," Tomoyami sang, her voice disturbing sweet with bloodlust. "Fine! Then come at me with everything you've got!"

The two charged recklessly towards one another, scythes raised to slash the other open—but right before their strikes were launched, Tomoyami leapt into the air, flipping forward and over her opponent with one of her favorite acrobatic tricks. Spinning with more agility than Hetero could manage, she tripped him with her long, shapely legs, striking him with her scythe as he fell.

To her surprise and delight, the most powerful effect of her weapon kicked in, draining her foe to 10% of his original HP.

"What? With one hit?" he cried disbelievingly, readying his defense. "Well then, _**Repth! Reaper's Touch!"**_

"Ah, you know healing magic do you?" the girl of flowing black pigtails noted, her lips curving into a cruel smirk as she regarded the victim before her. "Still, you've got a lot to learn before you face a Chaotic PK! _**Heavenly Wheel!**_"

An ebon scythe sliced through the air, as all around the two, a fairly one-sided battle raged…

"_**Piercing Heaven!"**_ was the cry of mirror images Axanthic and Leucistic, their drills sharp enough to pierce the heavens, aiming for Aruna and Arano's unarmored flesh.

_Dong! _The sound of metal one stone, as a lance missed its target and slammed into the Arena floor.

"Yo, ya missed!" taunted Aruna, whose Tribal Grappler class lent him speed as tackled aside the Lord Partizan headed toward Arano. "Now how 'bout a taste of my fist, _**Shell Shock!"**_

Targeting the one tugging his spear from the ground, Shadow Warlock Arano let loose his own attack, as light literally shot out from his form at one of the armored titans.

"Take this..._**OrLei Zas!**_ Nothing like a fistful of lightning!**"**

Thrown back by the two attacks, the twin Lord Partizans merely snarled like beasts, looking at each other before rushing in again, this time to pierce the two annoyances for sure.

"Heh, is that all you've got? _**Ranki Lei! Ranki Lei!"**_ Arano shouted, invoking twice one of his more insidious spells, one that caused the character targeted to automatically attack allies and enemies indiscriminately for a set amount of time. And since the two Lord Partizans were closer to each other than anyone else…well. "Did you forget? Lord Partizans are weak against casters!"

"Yo, what happened?" asked Aruna, seeing Axanthic and Leucistic of Team Hetero striking at each other with their lances, allowing no quarter.

"Just a bit of strategy," Arano replied, gathering up another spell. "Since they're heavily armored, I don't want to waste time wearing down their defense…and since Lord Partizans are ideally equipped to pierce armor…"

"You're a genius!"

"Yeah, I know...you don't need to tell me that!" the Shadow Warlock quipped, though he turned serious a moment later. "Just be ready to jump in there as soon as this is over, alright? _**OrGan Bolg!**_"

Hearing the name of the familiar spell, Aruna dived out of the way as thin needles of earth lanced out, riddling the two clashing Lord Partizans, each spine doing more and more damage to their defenses, spears of rock that could not be blocked. Just as the storm ended, the Tribal Grappler charged, with all the speed he could summon.

"Alright, lets finish this! _**King Hammer!"**_ he howled, fists glowing in rage as he struck the Lord Partizans again and again—until suddenly, the confusion spell wore off, and Axanthic and Leucistic together sent Aruna flying with a single blow.

They readied a counterattack, but by then, it was far too late. The morale bar of Team Aida had reached its peak.

Team leader Hetero thought he had won a reprieve when Tomoyami jumped back and put away her weapon, raising his own to end the match once and for all—only to freeze where he stood as two chilling words spelled his room.

"_**Divine Awakening: Plasma Blade!"**_

From the very air itself, a gale of plasma erupted into existence, gathering into the upraised hands of the Unyielding Shadow to form a scythe of light.

"Here it comes, are you ready?" she taunted, using the full power in her virtual legs to hurtle high into the sky, disappearing from sight. Yet no sooner had Hetero breathed a sigh of relief when a glowing plasma meteor from above struck the Arena, the shockwave of fire spilling all over the floating battle isle. "DIE!"

The flames engulfed all of Team Hetero, consuming the last of their HP as Tomoyami, Aruna, and Arano strode out of the flames victorious.

"Like shadow and flame through tissue paper, Team Aida has triumphed here! Honor to Tomoyami and the Invincible Perverts!"

"I'm really getting tired of that nickname," Arano groaned, even as they were warped back to the Arena Lobby.

* * *

**Arena Lobby, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

Rings of azure light flared into existence, bearing with them the victorious trio who had just shown their strength in the Arena, a Flick Reaper, Tribal Grappler, and Shadow Warlock, who fought together, defeating their foes with ease. Stepping out of the group, Tomoyami of Shadow gave them a thumbs-up and a grin.

"Congratulations, I see you two weren't useless after all," she voiced coolly, smirking dangerously at the pair (but particularly Aruna). "So, Invincible Perverts, eh? Is there a reason for that I should know about?"

"Of course not," answered Arano all too quickly. "At least, from me—its Aruna whose always hitting on the girls!"

"YOU TRAIT—" Aruna began to bellow, only to swallow and emit a muffled "eeep" at the glare he received from Tomoyami. Instead, he switched to old Shinji mode, bowing and scraping and kissing the Flick Reaper's feet, while Arano laughed in the background. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Heh, this is such a great screenshot for blackmail purposes," Arano had the misfortune of accidentally saying out loud. On hearing that, the two involved in the embarrassing scene snapped their eyes onto Arano, looked at each other and nodded, striding forward calmly with very menacing smiles on their faces. '_Oh crap, I said that out loud…'_

But before any violence could be dealt (whether appropriately or inappropriately is up to each one's discretion), a delicate cough and a flash of red caught the attention of all three, distracting them from their little feud. Turning to see who it was, two of the three (that is to say, the Invincible Perverts) were surprised to see the player Lycoris, the young girl clad in a red dress marked with an infinity symbol, an adorable red cape clasped about her delicate shoulders.

"Congratulations to the three of you," she murmured, an enigmatic smile on her face, golden eyes shining out into the darkness. "But I'm afraid I need to steal Tomoyami from you for a while, since we have some business to take care of together. That's all right with the two of you, right?"

Arano and Aruna, never able to turn down the request of an attractive girl (except if she was trying to kill them), quickly acquiesced.

"Oh, of course, no problem at all," said Aruna, scratching the back of his neck. "Say, can I have your—oomph!"

"What Aruna means to say is of course its fine," Arano corrected with a smirk. "We're honored that someone as lovely and charming as you took the time and trouble to watch humble Team Aida's first match in the Tournament."

For an instant, Tomoyami had to fight to forcibly restrain the urge to twitch and pound both of her colleagues into the ground, forcing them to eat the very dust of the earth. And then, a wicked idea came into her mind, one that matched her rather demonic appearance.

"Ah, Lyco-chan!" the pig-tailed girl beamed, mischief in her eye as she flounced over to the Child of Twilight's side and pecked her on the cheek, taking the silver-haired girl's arm lovingly. _'Lets see how those perverts react to this…' _"I'm so glad you came to watch us today, even if you had to suffer the attentions of these so-called invincible perverts."

Lycoris giggled softly at Tomoyami's words.

"I'm glad I did...it was quite thrilling, really," the Child of Twilight replied sweetly, catching on to what the Flick Reaper wished to do. "You remember how I promised to reward you if you won, right?"

"Of course, Lyco-chan, I'm looking forward to it..." Tomoyami all but purred, a throaty voice that sent a shiver down her teammates' spines. "Shall we, then?"

At that very moment, one could have easily replaced Arano and Aruna's eyes with four dinner-plates, and no one would have been the wiser.

"You mean…you and—and—and…" Aruna could not finish his sentence, with so much intensity was he fighting to prevent a nosebleed.

"Alright Lyco-chan, let's go on our date!" Tomoyami cooed, evoking the death cries of the Idiot Duo, who simply stood there dumbfounded as the two girls walked over to the Chaos Gate. As she arrived, she turned them, uttering one last word before warping out.

"Kidding."

With an audible click, Arano and Aruna forced their jaws shut, closed their eyes, counted from one to ten, and opened them once more.

'_**What…the…hell…was that?'**_ were their thoughts in stereo.

* * *

**Outer Dungeon**

Golden spirals of light descended near an abnormal Chaos Gate, vanishing to reveal the form of a still shaken Skari. Having been contacted by the mysterious Helba, he had had no choice but to follow her instructions if he wanted information on what had struck down his comrade Skadi, even going as far as to install a new program into his character and do an irregular warp at a data anomaly. Thus, it was only understandable that he wanted to get his bearings, especially when his surroundings were so strange—more an abstract cubist fantasy of translucent blue-green shapes than any field within The World.

"Welcome to the Outer Dungeons, Third Child," came a cool musical voice from behind him, "I see you have you decided to come."

Skari whirled about to see who it could be, his eyes widening as he noted the presence of a statuesque blond, with a perpetual expression of amusement on her face. Features stern and severe, with her eyes hidden behind a red visor trimmed by gold, she was a Harvest Cleric to be sure, outfitted in a flowing white dress with purple triangular designs and what resembled a matching queen's helm, though she resembled nothing as much as a regal sorcerer-queen.

"Tsukinoki, is it? Or should I call you Helba?" he asked, wanting to get the pleasantries out of the way. "What…is this place? Is it still The World?"

The Queen of the Dark smiled faintly and gave him a once-over with her covered eyes, with an approving '_hmph_' escaping her lips.

"One is the present, one is the past, though Tsukinoki would likely attract less attention than the other. But I leave that decision to you, slayer of the divine," she replied calmly, not particularly caring by which she was addressed. "As for the nature of this place, it is both The World and not, born of the corrosion of The World by the unseen wind of plague shrieking across the border."

"Fidchell's prophecy?" Skari questioned. "What does that have to do with The World? And more importantly, does it have anything to do with what took down Skadi?"

"Yes indeed, Third Child, I refer to Fidchell's prophecy, as the Epitaph of Twilight is the foundation of this world," the Sorceress in White remarked. "Even if C.C. Corp has tried to change it, remnants of the old story remain, fated by narrative causality to see its way to completion. Do you also remember the Phases in the Epitaph, and how it was mentioned that the 'Wave was just a beginning as well?' And do you also remember a reference to shadows born of error from our mutual friend Rumor?"

"I do, as I've been studying the Epitaph," the Adept Rogue responded evenly. "So what can you tell me that I do not know?"

"Very well then," the Harvest Cleric conceded. "I will tell you of five years ago, and I will tell you of now, when in the wake of the Cursed Wave defeated by the dothackers, a new scourge arrives. Years ago, the dothackers confronted the old God of the World, a scared and frenzied being who warped pieces of her own being into phases with which to work her will. The legendary party overcame the mirages and illusions of human existence, even absolute terror itself, to defeat a foe thought to be invincible. They fought inhuman terrors as you have, facing death, as you have, and prevailed. And were led by a young boy the same age as you are now, a young boy who fought because he had lost someone dear to him…someone in short, very much like you."

"He was…like me?" Skari repeated, finding it hard to wrap his mind around the fact. "But I'm no hero, just someone who does what I have to. And I haven't beaten fear…it's all I can do not to run away."

"What do you think a hero is?" questioned Helba, looking at the Adept Rogue as if sizing him up, just as she had done when they first met. When the Cleric spoke again, it was in the calm but slightly scornful tone of one accustomed to command. "A hero is simply one who lives with fear but keep going, who takes the feelings within them and can use them as their strength, a person who does not run away even in the face of great danger. This is why I am asking you to become a dothacker, not for your sake, but for your friend Ayanami's."

Silence fell over the Outer Dungeon as Skari took his time considering the offer. There was really only one thing on his mind, so he asked it.

"Will I be able to bring her back?"

"Defeat the power that binds her, and the Lost One will return," Helba answered him frankly. "It will not be an easy task, nor one that is perfectly safe, as your enemy is like the shadow itself, called—"

The Queen of the Dark fell silent, her explanation of the situation interrupted by rings of golden light, which shimmered and vanished to reveal three very familiar figures:

Morganna, former goddess of The World, who appeared as a feared sorceress clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses and dark violet eyes. With an ancient and unrecognizable book in hand, and infinity symbol serving as her dress' brooch, she was instantly recognizable.

Lycoris, Child of Twilight, forerunner to Aura, appears as a small girl in red dress and cape, with silvery red hair decorated by crimson ribbons, the same color as the flower that shares her name. Her dress too, was marked with an infinity symbol.

And lastly, Tomoyami, with her signature dual streaming pigtails of lustrous black hair, brought out all the more by her loose flowing white dress with blue underskirt.

"If I'm not mistaken, you were about to say 'Artifically Intelligent Data Anomalies', rogue AIs of the void that can infect other players or even monsters," Morganna completed with a nod to her comrade Tsukinoki. "Greetings, Skari. I am glad to see that you have come, you who the Phases would likely have used as their primary data mine, if they were still collecting information on human emotions."

"—Sensei, Lycoris, Tomoyami…what are you doing here?" asked the stunned Adept Rogue, eyes near bulging from his sockets. "Are you all…dothackers as well?"

He did not expect Morganna and Helba both to laugh as if at some private in-joke, while Lycoris merely smiled with one of those looks that said '_we'll talk later' _quite clearly.

"No, I am not of the dothackers," Morganna replied with a half smile fixed upon her lips. "I will not go too far into my past, but suffice it to say I am working with Tsukinoki to avert a Third Network Crisis. Lycoris and Tomoyami have agreed to join as well, which is good, as even you cannot bring back the Lost Ones on your own."

"But—but what if…" Skari trailed off, unwilling to give voice to concern, that someone else he cared about would be taken by the Shadow.

"I know how you feel, but Skadi was our friend too, Skari," spoke Tomoyami. "And as your friend, I cannot let you fight alone."

Skari looked over at Lycoris with pleading eyes, hoping to convince her to turn back from this dangerous course of action, but her golden eyes shone with a determination that was almost frightening to behold.

"My sister walked beside the dothackers," the Child of Twilight spoke in answer to his concern. "She walked with them, and with them defeated the Cursed Wave. Without her, the last Phase Corbenik would not have fallen, even to Kite. And if Tomoyami is going to go with you as a friend, what makes you think you can keep me from your side? What would I do if I lost you as well?"

Skari had nothing to say to that, so he wisely shut up.

"Very good," voiced the Queen of the Dark. "But one cannot be expected to fight the Shadow as one is, so to you, the neo dothackers, we will bequeath you with items to help you in your fight. Tomoyami, step forward please and show me your weapon."

As the Flick Reaper did so, Tsukinoki flicked her left hand, causing her staff "8 Wise Men" to appear within its grasp. Then, like a queen elevating a commoner to the rank of knight, she touched both of Tomoyami's shoulders and then the demonic looking scythe with her staff, causing the both to glow briefly before returning to normal.

"I have given you the remnants of a fallen knight, one who served me well unto the end," Tsukinoki proclaimed solemnly. "Your weapon has been enhanced so that it will be effective against the AIDA threat, and your character made resistant to infection."

Morganna turned and caught the Adept Rogue's eyes, beckoning him to her with a crooked finger. Tapping her foot once upon the ground, a haunting sound like whalesong was heard as a golden dumbbell monster simply appeared above the Shadow Warlock's head, a bracelet buried within the central juncture.

"And this, Skari, is a Twilight Guardian, a monster that I may summon to protect me," she explained, raising an eyebrow. Before he could react, a thin tendril shot out from ameboid form right at him—stopping a hair's breadth from his face. She then dispelled the monster, and passed on its data to him, having it demonstrated its speed and power adequately in her eyes. "And because you walk beside Lycoris, I will give you this power so as to protect you. It can be used against non-AIDA threats, but its most powerful ability is the skill known as Data Drain, which can rewrite the data of its target. Use it wisely."

Both Sorceresses stepped backwards then, nodding to the newly christened dothackers, and one another.

"We have given you our gifts," they spoke as one. "And now it is to you the path to walk…."

"Wait," interrupted Tomoyami, raising an eyebrow at the fact that Lycoris had not been given anything. "What about our friend, is she not to be gifted with something as well?"

But Helba only smiled as she looked upon the Child of Twilight, her former ward.

"The sister of Aura was already blessed with power upon her birth," was her reply. "She holds in her hands a light that can bring salvation or destruction upon the user's whim. Now I caution you all not to be defeated by an AIDA or an AIDA-PC, one who has been infected by the Shadow. But the hour grows late, and you three require rest. We will be in touch, my dear dothackers."

In silence the three young ones departed one by one, shimmers of golden light enveloping their forms and whisking them away, back into the proper World, until finally, Morganna and Helba stood seemingly alone within the abstract cubist world.

"You may come out now," the Queen of the Dark spoke into the empty shadows. "Our other business has concluded."

_Step-step-step_ emerged slow, methodical footsteps, revealing the form of a Steam Gunner, the mysterious one who was both the Epitaph User of Corbenik and the first of the AIDA-PCs: Tri-Edge.

"A most intriguing and dangerous game you play, fallen Goddess, hacker queen."

"Likewise…old friend."

* * *

**Terminal Dogma, NERV HQ**

It was the moment of truth for Dr. Akagi. The comatose version of the First Child had been disposed of, and now it was time to awaken a replacement from the Reiquarium. One had already been removed from the large tank, with the First Child's latest download data installed. But it was no use…the clone was not waking, and remained without a soul.

Still comatose, still sleeping, waiting for mind and soul to return from parts unknown.

"The activation of the replacement…has failed."


	32. Login 13: Withering Enchantment

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Withering Enchantment**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Undisclosed Location**

The Wanderer strode on alone through the desert wastes, tattered grey cloak flapping behind him in the wind. With each step he took, feet sinking lightly into sand, the wind picked up speed and malice, howling as if beseeching him to stop where he stood and repent of his many sins. But he kept on, dual Deadly Fearblades in hand, bloodshot eyes glaring into the distance as if to dare the world itself to stand against him as he walked unto a field of blades.

Like an vengeful wraith seeking succor from the badlands, he would not be dissuaded from reaching his goal, even if in his wake was littered the corpses of the countless dead, devastation trailing him like hyenas having scented blood.

"The Dark Evangel rises," came whispers from the hazy distance, from huddled survivors of his dreaded wrath. "The Apostle of the Shadow stalks the world anon."

His mane of blue-silver hair steaming behind him like the tendrils of spirits past, a flock of rifts in the fabric of space-time following as if enslaved to the soulless rage within the Harbinger of The End. Twin swords unbound by sanity's shackles, wordlessly howling a song of battle and madness, the Dark Evangel pressed on towards his final resting place.

His will was the edge of his sword, uncaring steel his body, the fires of wrath his blood. A demon's taint urged him on in forging a sea of thorn infested shades, unknown to death, nor known to life. Withstanding the pain of loss and utter desolation, he called to his side a thousand weapons, with hands cursed to never hold anything.

His only prayer, destruction, his only wish, revenge, he walked beneath the crimson sky, searching out his hated foe.

A mocking laugh as before his eyes emerged a shadowed form, who only laughed to see the wanderer.

"Fiery the angels fell," intoned the mocking foe. "Plagues creep on the burning winds, when pitying messengers lust for tears, and fan themselves with sighs. Deep thunder rolls through cityscapes burning with the fires of needless war. Falling into deep sublime, as wave of shadow strikes the shore, fragrant spirits frozen in an empty shell."

"You," snarled the Dark Evangel, baring his teeth and leaping high to cleave in twain his foe with blades summoned forth by ancient rage—

—as a shaken Child wakened from his dream.

* * *

**NERV Medical**

In the cold metallic room in which the body of the First Child rested, the Third Child stirred, waking to the soothing strains of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." Still groggy and wondering just what had brought on the vagaries of his half-remembered dream, the brown-haired boy blinked the weariness from his eyes, swiveling his head towards the source of the unexpected sound.

To his surprise, there was someone else present by Rei Ayanami's bedside, someone peering down at her sleeping face as if drinking in the details for future reference. It was a young boy about his age, albeit one whose features near mirrored the blue-haired girl's, sharing the same alabaster pale skin, piercing crimson eyes, and oddly-colored hair. Indeed, this stranger was possessed of the tousled grey hair he had only seen once before: on a little boy within The World, the personification of rumors.

"Eh?" was the Third Child's overly intelligent reply as he regarded the newcomer quizzically.

"A song is good, is it not?" the other asked. "A song can bring us joy, and thus is it not the highest form of culture that Lilims have created, Shinji Ikari?"

Shinji was momentarily taken aback, wondering just how it was that so many people knew his name without having met him in the past. Ever since he'd come to NERV it was if he was some underground celebrity, sans the exorbitant sums of money and publicity that would traditionally come with that role.

'_I don't really want more attention that I don't deserve,'_ he mused, '_but maybe I should ask Misato about the pay, since I am risking my life…'_

"You know my name?" the brown-haired boy asked half-suspiciously. Was there a file on him being passed around? If so, he understood how Kaji would have known, since Shinji had to admit that piloting Eva in combat without training and achieving the highest kill count of Angels might inspire some military fandom.

"Everyone knows your name," the other replied with a distant expression. "You should be better aware of your position!"

"Is that so?" the Third Child rebutted, a hint of skepticism lacing his tone. "Well, who are you? And what are you doing in NERV Medical?"

The other straightened, his gaze coming to regard the brown-haired boy fully for the first time, emitting a soft "_hmph" _as he did so. Oddly enough, it seemed that the stranger was wearing the long-sleeved shirt and black slacks that were the uniform of the school he attended, a sight which set off warning bells in his mind when coupled with his presence here.

"I am called Kaworu," voiced the mysterious silver-haired boy. "Kaworu Nagisa, the shore on which the wave may come to rest at last. I am the Fourth Child."

"Fourth Child?" Shinji repeated in shock. "You? But…aren't there only three Evas?"

"This is true, but consider the First, she who is the same as me," Kaworu murmured, turning once again to regard the comatose form of Rei Ayanami, reaching out to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Her path flagged with grey-browed snows, she descends weeping into dismal howling woe, clothed in tears & trembling in shuddering cold…she will not soon awaken."

Shinji felt a sudden pang of anger mixed with jealousy, his emotional hedgehog spikes bristling as he saw how intimately the Fourth Child was touching the First, almost as if they were lovers.

"Don't talk about her like that," he snapped frostily, "she'll wake up soon, I'm sure of it. And I know she won't like you touching her like that, Nagisa!"

"Oh? How foolish…the destination of people is eternal separation," Kaworu sighed, almost as if reciting lines given to him, all the while leaning closer to Shinji, "like the shadowed ones who quest for the Twilight Dragon to save their land, knowing they are never to return. So is the First like Plaird of the Seven Sisters, falling in love with a human and gaining a shadow, even when living is painful, with the shadowed heart fragile like glass. Her hope is but a thread of sadness, for do you not love another, Ikari-kun?"

The Third Child paled, blood draining from his face as he finally understood how strange the Fourth truly was, and how he knew altogether too much. That he was an Eva pilot, he could accept, his name, he could accept, but…

"…Just who are you, Nagisa-san?" he whispered, looking away into the corner, eyes blazing in the darkness. "Why do you quote from the Epitaph of Twilight? Why are you trying to get close to me?"

"Because I might have been born to meet you," replied Kaworu of the Shore, "Anyway, call me 'Kaoru', Ikari-kun."

"…"

Shinji did not reply, and when he finally looked back at where the silver-haired boy had been, he was gone.

'_What? But I didn't hear him move, and the door didn't open…though if I had to hear any more, my hair might have turned white out of shock!'_

Glancing around the room to see if the Fourth was hiding, waiting to jump out at him from the shadows, his eyes saw nothing out of the ordinary—nothing, that was, save for the vase of thornless blue roses resting on the table, the one spot of color in an otherwise drab room. It suited the gentle Ayanami, as blue roses meant mystery, the impossible…and as much as he didn't want to admit it, the hope for unattainable love.

'_I should be grateful to Reimeiki-chan…since she helped me dye the roses this color…'_

Sighing, he said his goodbyes to the blue-haired girl, promising to visit on the morrow. And without another word, he left.

It was funny how he didn't notice that one of the roses had withered away…

* * *

**Asuka Langley Soryu's Residence, NERV HQ**

When one stepped back and thought about the situation, it was only natural that the great Asuka Langley Soryu had been chosen as an EVA pilot. After all, she met all the requirements: a mother whose soul had been captured by the machine, an iconic catchphrase ("Anta Baka?"), and of course a layer of emotional armor around her heart that both protected her and restrained her. And like an Eva, it was difficult for just anyone to synchronize with her, as she had the strange tendency to go berserk with merely minor provocations.

'_I'm strong…I don't need anyone else'_ was her refrain much as the Third Child's was _'I mustn't run away.'_

So then why couldn't she get the Third Child's face out of her mind? Why hadn't she pummeled the him into submission after he dared to steal her first kiss?

"B-Baka!" she raged, slamming a fist into the wall of her living quarters. _'I mean, he isn't as dull as I thought he'd be, but—NO, I can't think like that. I don't need anyone, much less some housebroken male.'_

To stand out, to surpass anyone who stood in her way, that was her goal. To be the best Eva pilot, revered as the savior of The World, whose light shines more brightly than any other. Yes, to be a lightbringer, filled with pride and talent that would dazzle even the distant Commander of NERV. Since the First was now in a comatose state (which the Second Child was unduly happy about, even going so far as to say that the doll got what she deserved at last) and the Third was more morose than usual about it, obviously the half-German would be the only competent pilot remaining, right?

'_At least, I'll be better than that verdammen playboy baka hentai!' _she thought vehemently, glaring at the direction of NERV Medical, where undoubtedly the Third was taking advantage of the First's doll-like nature to do perverted things with her body. _'And instead of stopping in shame when I call him on it, he has the gall to defile my lips. And doesn't he already have a girlfriend…I really won't forgive him this time…does he really like dolls that much?'_

Said girlfriend (and one of Asuka's only friends in Tokyo-3) was Reimeiki Hakubo, the silver-haired girl of class 2-A, had once jokingly described the strange relationship between the Second and Third Children as the mating dance of hedgehogs. Every time the redhead looked at her friend, she was reminded of how her mother had turned her affections to a doll, just referring to her as _that girl_, even when her mother committed suicide.

'_That day I promised myself no more tears, that I would swallow up emotion and use it to grow stronger…in this world or in others. That's why I'm a Chaotic PK, to show those worthless perverts and dolls in The World how useless it is to depend on others, because to trust someone only means they'll end up hurting you. Better to taste a bit of pain at the edge of my blade than to have someone you care about stab you in the back and replace you.'_

Replacements. Just as she thought, the First had been replaced with another unnatural being, a porcelain doll Wondergirl traded in for the male version. Did the Commander have a fetish for dolls, being the dirty old man that he was? Asuka would not have been surprised if it were so, since the much-hated blunette had obviously been the old man's favorite. Sometimes it seemed that the whole world liked pliant dolls more than people who actually stood up for themselves.

As for the great Asuka Langley Soryu, the only 'doll-like' person she tolerated even a little was the silver-haired Reimeiki, and that was because she was the only other German she knew of in the city. It was nice sometimes to be able to speak in the mother tongue when she didn't want that nosy, dictatorial Class Representative listening in on her conversations.

'_That Hikari Horaki really isn't normal…who does she think she is, opposing an Evangelion Pilot? She reminds me way too much of that Tomoyami shadow bitch who always interferes with me in The World…heh…'_

Ever since the pigtailed girl had stood up to her, defending that hormone driven monkey boy on the deck of the supercarrier _Over the Rainbow, _Asuka had found herself unable to put aside her hostility in her dealings with the class rep. So for now the two found themselves in a Cold War situation, always playing at a game of brinkmanship as they came closer and closer to provoking the other to some overt act of aggression.

If Reimeiki hadn't kept them apart…

'_Heh…that Idiot Duo would have found a way to film the fight and sell the tape for money…'_

Shaking her head in derision, the redhead found that she needed a way to vent her frustration. She _could _go visit the doll again and hurl insults at her unresponsive form, but that wouldn't be any fun. So instead, she decided to extend her reign of terror, walking over to her desk and logging into The World.

'_Is that the smell of ozone in the background?'_

* * *

**Δ Server Eternal City Mac Anu**

When the Edge Punisher Eris materialized once again in Mac Anu, she felt revitalized, as if this was her true seat of power. Hated she might be, feared she might be, but always respected, especially since to see her in a field was to know certain death—or so at least the rumors said. The "Bringer of Strife" indeed, she had _technically_ met no equal in combat since the time of her ascendancy.

And while she still had minor misgivings concerning the strange black and silver Macabre Dancer called Siarl of the Seven Eyes, she was fairly confident that after having mastered the power of the shadow, he would be no match for her. If even that strange androgynous blunette Endrance, who supposedly wielded one of the eight avatars of The World's divine power, had fallen to her might, then was she not invincible?

With a mirthless chuckle, she moved to unsheathe her beloved Heine's Shadow, thinking to mow down all those hapless newbies clustered outside the Chaos Gate arrival area, only to remember too late that the Root Towns were places weapons could not be drawn.

'_Heh…well if I can't kill them, I'll scare them half to death with my new body…'_

After absorbing the powers of the AIDA seed, her character's form had changed dramatically. Granted, half of her was still the voluptuous leather-clad double of her real-world form, but her other half was demonic, shot through with crimson and noir, the shadows themselves casting a strange aura around her, so that she resembled a vengeful wraith of darkness.

Her senses seemed heightened, as players of all levels, all classes, glanced quickly at and away from her, as if afraid of incurring her wrath.

"…It's her," came a whisper from the shadows. "The Bringer of Strife"

"She looks like a demon," another voice hissed. "...what happened to her…just looking at her is giving me the creeps."

Ignoring them, she narrowed her eyes as a figure threading his way through the milling crowds caught her attention. 'Twas an unshaven Steam Gunner with fair skin and black hair bound up in a ponytail, wearing orange sunglasses, a blood red tunic, black trousers, and a flowing black overcoat, who looked very much like

'_Kaji?' _she thought in surprise. _'But why would he play The World? That gunner's name is Gendor…maybe it _is _him…'_

But before she could act, the other player was already gone, and in his place, the sea of murmurs intensified, amplified by the doppleshift of characters passing by.

"They say Taihaku hasn't returned to The World since he lost against Eris in the Holy Palace Tournament."

'_Heh, that overdressed nobleman? Serves him—'_

"They say he's in a coma, just like that weird player Endrance…and anyone else who gets PKed by her,"one said worriedly. "What if she comes after one of us?"

"It's just a rumor…there's no way someone could fall into a coma from being PKed, unless they were just too ashamed to face the world again," another voice quipped, causing a round of chuckles.

"But…the Unreturners—Doll Syndrome—"

"Besides," continued that first voice, "hasn't she sworn to slay the Dark Evangel, that enigmatic PKK and Arena fighter?"

"Yeah, well, good luck with that—you remember what happened when that mob of 50 PKs ambushed him, right?" laughed an annoyingly familiar voice—one belonging to the Tribal Grappler Aruna. "He took down every single one of them, without retreating a single step. After losing his partner Skadi, he's defeated everyone who comes at him, with a mysterious power protecting him."

'_Power? The "Dark Evangel", eh?' _Eris thoughts, her lips widening to a Cheshire grin. _'Well then—I'll just have to show him how weak he really is when next we meet.'_

Making a quick about-face turn, the mighty Bringer of Strife walked back to Chaos Gate, and warped away to parts unknown.

* * *

**Coin Laundry, Tokyo-3**

In the fortress city of mankind against an apocalyptic threat, one might not expect to hear the sound of children laughing, innocents idling away their weekends unaware of danger lurking round the corner. Nevertheless, in any city there are families, and where there are families, there is youth making merry, whiling away the short moments before the onslaught of unending ceaseless toil, or worse, before oblivion itself came to snatch away the coil of their mortal lives.

Along with youth came age, and with age the tedium of work and household chores. Unsurprisingly, the defenders of man did not have too much free time in which to ignore the rule of cleanliness, so it wasn't too large a surprise that several NERV personnel were gathered in a local coin laundry. Today, the crowd consisted of Ryoji Kaji, NERV's resident Special Investigator (and would be ladies man), and two of the bridge bunnies: Makoto Hyuga (lover of manga, formerly a hacker known by the codename Bith the Black), and Maya Ibuki.

"Cleaning doesn't come cheap..." mumbled the glasses wearing Makoto, munching on a hamburger and reading some manga series about teenagers piloting giant mecha against an elder alien race determined to exterminate humanity.

"Speak for yourself," Maya chimed in. "I'd at least like some time to do some washing myself, don't you think?"

Feeling a somewhat unwelcome presence, she turned her head to see that the unsavory Kaji had sidled up next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"So little time off indeed…not enough to spend with beautiful women like yourself," murmured the unshaven spy. "NERV is such a strict organization, isn't it?"

"Because Commander Ikari is like he is," Maya harrumphed, pulling away from the would-be Casanova. _'And between my work at NERV and my other life, I barely have any time for more routine things…it's a bother sometimes.'_

"And what about you?" Kaji pressed, leaning close so as to nibble at her ear. "What are you like outside the office?"

"Is this…really OK, Kaji?" the mousy brunette asked hesitantly. "I'll have to tell Katsuragi-san and Sempai about this."

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head," the spy urged smoothly, "Before you talk, I'll cover your mouth—"

A violent shove sent him away as the petite bridge tech blushed.

"No! At least…not here," she whispered, looking down and seemingly embarrassed. "How is your work going?"

"Oh, well, normally," the Special Investigator replied, intrigued by how Ibuki was playing hard to get. "Just some of this and that each day, completing the errands I'm sent on."

"Heh…I had a job like that once," the glasses-wearing Makoto broke in, looking up from his hamburger and blinking at the awkward situation the other two were in. "But that just something a few years back before I joined NERV."

Two things excited Ryoji Kaji: women, and information that might get him closer to the truth. This sounded suspiciously like the latter.

"Ah, let me guess, you carried out orders under an alias like Ichiro Sato or something?" the unshaven man asked flippantly (Ichiro Sato being the Japanese equivalent of John Smith or some other obvious pseudonym).

"Perhaps," was Makoto's reply, as the otaku put down his manga and checked the timer on his laundry. "But of what use would knowing a name be anyway? Names are just a combination of symbols used to distinguish oneself."

'_Ah, so you're still much the same, even if you've picked up a new hobby,' _thought Maya with a faint smile. _'I may have a use for you later on, I suppose.'_

"Someone told me something similar recently," NERV's triple-agent recalled, "a certain player of The World, actually."

'_And she recruited me to work for her in exchange for a key to the truth that I seek…I do wonder how Helba knows of me,' _the spy kept to himself.

"You mean the MMORPG?" Maya asked, seemingly surprised. "Somehow, I doubt this is an order from Commander Ikari."

"Heh…that's right, a man has to have some hobbies, right?" Kaji asked with a grin, now on the trail of an apparent weakness in her emotional armor. "Care to show me how to improve my skills in the other world?"

"Oh? And what player might that be?" Makoto asked, taking another bite of his burger. "And although I can't say anything about your private life, Inspector, please don't seduce young girls in this situation."

"You've probably both heard of her, since she's as well known in her field as the Third Child is in his," quipped the now-amused spy. "Does the name Helba mean anything to you?"

Makoto only raised an eyebrow in reply.

"They say that she is the greatest hacker in the world, yes," Maya answered. "That she was somehow involved with the events of the Second Network Crisis. Why, do you know something about her?"

"Oh, I could tell you," the spy countered in a deadpan that left the others wondering if he was serious, "but then, I'd have to kill you."

The three chuckled at what had not really been a joke, though they'd chosen to think of it as such, and fell silent once again.

But nature abhors a vacuum, so after a while, another broke the awkward silence.

"Someone like that would have incredible power in Tokyo-3, since the MAGI are the ones who run the city," Makoto said to no one in particular. "Since this is an era where technology is all-pervasive."

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Bulwark, Morrigu Barrow Wall**

In the backstory of The World, humanity had destroyed the gods by capturing the goddess Aurora and channeling her power into a Crest Gun used to attack heavens, the resulting blast annihilating the divinities in one strike. Only one remained, the god of judgment Folset, who stood watch not in heaven but on Earth, guarding the Morrigu Barrow Wall, the fortress protecting the grave of the gods. And once, it rumored that humanity had used the One Sin in an attempt to breach the barrier and enter the gates of heaven, only to find their trial a resounding failure.

But no one sought to break through today, with the Tribal Grappler Lycoris and Adept Rogue Skari in the field having been transported there by a haze of crimson light. It was no surprise that they were disoriented, as they had originally been dispatched to investigate a data anomaly in Wailing Capital Wald Uberlisterin, located at **Θ Hidden Forbidden Hades. **There,they had discovered a strange three-edged marking forcibly carved into the granite earth, which upon Lycoris touching it, had pulsed with life, forcibly warping them to another field.

"Strange…so that is the AIDA's method of transportation within The World?" inquired Skari, the Dark Evangel, who despite his strength was not quite up to par with his companion in understanding the complexities of the Shadow.

"So it would seem," murmured the silver-haired Child of Twilight, golden eyes taking in the situation. "Such markings have been found in Lost Grounds and various areas in The World R:2, though I suspect they are the work of an AIDA-PC."

"An AIDA-PC…a player infected by AIDA?" the Adept Rogue repeated, "How would one recognize one?"

"Just so," Lycoris replied, tilting her head thoughtfully. "It is said that AIDA corruption can be expressed in two ways…either by the appearance of black spots or by a character's appearance becoming corrupted by veins of black and red."

"I see," Skari acknowledged, tensing as he caught sight of a figure in the distance, a silver and black-clad Macabre Dancer playing with liquid shadows as he spoke. "Is…that…an AIDA-PC?"

"…Yes, we should approach cautiously, as his capabilities are unknown," his companion replied, glancing at the Adept Rogue and back to the distant figure, whose voice carried to them on the wind.

The duo moved silently ever closer, coming into range of the speaker.

"…an escape, or but another prison, is The World?" the Macabre Dancer mused out loud, liquid darkness dancing around him as if a veil to another place. "Like the light of the soul, the great Wall rings about The World, but what is truly trapped, that without or that within? Hedgehogs all within their dance, imprisoned within physicality. But perhaps I dwell on this too long, for another pair approaches ere the twilight of the gulls."

While still too far away for any expression to be made out, the black and silver figure looked up and warped away. And in his wake—

_A in the Fifth Octave, A above middle C._

—emerged two strange bioluminescent lifeforms like a complex protozoan, a pale blue-green creature with glowing orbs within leaking darkness from its core— the _AIDA(Gatekeeper) and AIDA(Anna)_

With a determined expression, Lycoris quickly interposed herself between the AIDA and her companion Skari, staring down the primal shadow born of error, as the space around them distorted, changed, all replaced by an endless twilight sea: Avatar Space.

All three now floated in the vast expanse, one Skari was only now seeing for the first time.

"What is-?" he began, but Lycoris cut him off.

"There's no time, we'll talk later. Skari, normal attacks are ineffective against these creatures. Summon your Guardian," she ordered, launching herself towards the larger of the rogue data lifeforms and crying out an attack skill. _'Ineffective, that is, unless one has a strange power within.' __**"Loving Boomerang Hook!"**_

In self-defense, the _AIDA(Gatekeeper) _shot out _**Kobold Bullets**_, hurling forth orbs of plasma at the silver-haired girl in the fluttering red dress. And while she concentrated on one, the disengaged _AIDA(Anna) _launched a flurry of _**Kobold Bullets **_of its own.

"Lyco!" Skari called out in warning, moving to act before freezing at how his companion simply batted away the projectiles with her naked fists. _'She really was holding back before…but even she can't take two on one odds, not against AIDA—ok, I'll summon the Guardian.'_

The sounds of battle raged on, with the dual AIDA using the _**Algol Mazer**_ and _**Algol Laser**_ skills in an attempt at point defense, firing a barrage of laser beams that were all nimbly dodged by the Child of Twilight. As was shown here, there were definite advantages to possessing a small frame.

The sister of the Goddess hurtled towards the protozoan with glowing fists outstretched, her ramming attacking blowing _AIDA(Gatekeeper)_ backwards before it could react. But it seemed that this foe would not be as easily defeated as a lesser AIDA, as it countered with a hail of Kolbold Bullets, one of which caught her off guard and knocking her away, with the _AIDA(Anna) _in pursuit.

Not that Skari was going to simply float in Avatar Space while his girlfriend did all the fighting for him. No, that would be running away, and he couldn't do that, for the silver-haired girl was counting on him. So, while Lycoris and the Gatekeeper were locked in combat, the Adept Rogue closed his eyes and focused, clenching his fist as he mumbled under his breath.

"Unaware of loss, nor aware of gain," he chanted, picturing the guardian in his mind. "Waiting for one's arrival…come!"

The warbling cry of whalesong signaled his success, as before him appeared the golden dumbbell monster that Morganna had gifted to him, its gelatinous surface ripping with the sound of its call.

"Go forth, protect Lycoris!" he ordered, willing it against the _AIDA(Anna)_ with his mind.

As if sensing danger from another front, the _AIDA(Anna)_ took evasive action, dashing through the twilight sea hither and thither, bobbing and weaving with Twilight Guardian moving to quickly intercept, tendrils of golden ectoplasm shooting from its molten balls to strike the cornered AIDA. And _AIDA(Gatekeeper)_, without the benefit of numbers, found itself at a disadvantage, the silver-haired girl closing in and delivering another powerful _**Loving Boomerang Hook.**_

But evasion was not the only way to clear an enemy from one's path, as the _Anna_ unleashed another _**Algol Laser **_at point blank range, taking the gelatinous dumbbell unawares, as it screamed in apparent agony. Quickly, to take advantage of the seconds it had bought, the oversized protozoan fired off a _**Kobold Bullet**_ storm before slamming its foe with two overhead blows from its protruding tentacles. Locked on now and unavoidable, they crashed into the dumbbell from all angles, sending it reeling.

Seeing the Guardian in a bad situation, Skari thought quickly, drawing his Gun Bead and taking aim at the _AIDA(Anna). _Perhaps he could not hurt it, but he could at least draw its attention.

_Crack! Crack! Crack!_he fired, launching a volley of bullets of his own, causing the smaller of the two AIDA to turn and rush recklessly at him.

"Now!" he called, "Intercept and attack!"

Perceiving that its master was in danger, the Twilight Guardian tackled the _AIDA(Anna)_ out of the way, launching innumerable tentacles from its form to tear into the protozoan and immobilize it.

'_How to finish it…yes…that's right'_

"_**DATA DRAIN!"**_ two voices cried in unison.

A thin tendril shot out from the bracelet of the Guardian, piercing the main body of the _AIDA(Anna), _as a hail of 1s and 0s surrounded it, form and content draining away, leaving only a data seed.

The girl in red stretched out her right hand, as the _AIDA(Gatekeeper) _turned to flee, but could not evade the sight of the giant eye forming before Lycoris, three crimson petals formed from hexagons flickering into existence as a terrible light charged within her hands. It lanced through the darkness, tearing the _Gatekeeper_ into nothingness.

Avatar Space dissolved, leaving the Guardian floating above Skari's head, and a strange item in Lycoris' hands: _"Siarl-00"_

"Good job calling your guardian! I have to report our findings to the Queen of the Dark," the silver-haired girl sighed with a tired smile, "but when you log off, come over, ok? It's been a while since we spent some time together, since you're visiting the hospital every day."

"Will do," the Adept Rogue replied, watching as golden spirals of light whisked his love away to a place outside The World.

As for Skari, he stood in the light of sun, shivering at how deadly his first AIDA battle had been. Since he knew that if he lost, he would fall into a coma, the stakes had been much higher than usual.

'_Almost like piloting EVA in some respects. And hey—I stood my ground this time.'_

"HAHAHAHA, so it's the baka hentai, the Dark Evangel!" cackled a voice from behind him, one that was all too familiar and sent shivers down his spine. Whirling, Skari narrowed his eyes upon seeing that this was indeed the figure of his nightmares, the Chaotic PK known as the Bringer of Strife. "And this time, you're no longer with your partner Skadi, that little blunette bitch. How interesting - I even hear that that little doll of yours is never coming back, is she? Heh...who'd want to work with a dummkopf like you anyway?"

The demonic wraith of darkness stood at a distance, mocking him in poisonously honeyed tones tones, grinning at his pain as she dared him to attack.

"What did you say?" asked the Adept Rogue, his tone chilling enough to outdo liquid helium. "Skadi—"

"—is never coming back, right? And it was all your fault too, I'll bet," Eris taunted, drawing her Heine's Shadow to hand, ready to strike. "So what are you going to do, Skari? You know that you have no chance against me, even if some mystical force protects you. So why don't you just run away?"

'_Run away…Eris knows Skadi is gone…hates dolls…Eris is…Eris is…'_

It normally took a lot to get Skari angry, but once he was…well, suffice it to say that there was a reason he was called berserker.

"**You…BITCH!**" he roared, switching his Gun Bead for his wickedly curved chainsaw daggers, Heine's Invasion, and revving them up to full power at once. "It was you who killed Skadi!"

With a howl of unstoppable rage, he rushed forward, mentally ordering the Guardian to attack. Metallic tendrils shot at supersonic speed towards the Edge Punisher, only to be deflected by innumerable clawed hands, sallying forth at their mistress' call to deflect and counterattack.

But Skari kept on, leaping left, right, left, whirling his blades about in a spiral of death at Eris' neck and stomach, only for his demonic blades to meet hers with a mighty _Clang!, _sparks flying as each warred momentarily for dominion—

—just as Tokyo-3 suffered a massive power outage, and both characters disappeared from the field.


	33. Logout 14: Glimmering Mirage

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Glimmering Mirage**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Morganna's Apartment**

Like a lighthouse on a rocky isle, casting brilliance out towards the horizon, so too did the city of Tokyo-3 give hope to all mankind. It was the last defense against the Angels, the city of science and technology, where man fought threats from beyond the stars for dominance of earth. A marvel of engineering and necessity, it sheltered the millions that called it home while glimmering in the sunlight—a thing of beauty symbolizing how mankind feared the darkness, and how, to survive, they chased it away with flames.

Without electricity, the works of man would sizzle out, impotent against the elements.

This was nowhere truer than in the apartment shared by Morganna and Lycoris, a sanctuary for the two that was unsurprisingly tech-heavy, given that the two had their origins in The World as beings related to the current Goddess of the Network. Spacious and airy, it was formed from the union of three apartments into one, outfitted with décor simple, yet elegant. In feeling, it evoked the atmosphere of wide-open spaces, with a few fantastical shapes here or there reminiscent of places from The World.

On first glance, one's eyes might be drawn to the little stuffed grunties that sat along the wall, or to the collections of books and paintings scattered around the apartment. The pictures all related to The World, some depicting each of the Root Towns as they used to be in the history of The World, some of the once and future "goddesses" together, and one of the "family" of Morganna, Harald Hoerwick, and Emma Wielant looking over their "progeny." The books ran the gamut from the epic poems such as the _Epic of Gilgamesh_, Homer's _Illiad_, _Titanomachy, _Ovid's _Metamorphoses, _and the Epitaph of Twilight itself, to plays by playwrights such as Shakespeare, and works of science fiction novels like Cordwainer Smith's _Instrumentality of Mankind._

Seeing these more traditional accouterments, most would skip over the paper thin LCD screens that literally coated the walls, the wave field synthesis devices for precise recreation of sonic environments, and the computer cores seamlessly woven into the walls. Indeed, one room in the house was nearly identical to the virtual room that NERV had created, with neural interfacing, motion tracking and all. Normally, the simulation setting was one of the root towns of The World: R1, but currently, the apartment had reverted to the default: a mirror of the Creator's Room.

'_Of course…the apartment has gone into power-save mode,'_ thought Lycoris, who had finished her report to Helba just as the power-grid in Tokyo-3 cut out. Luckily, as both of them were quite tech-savvy, each had invested in backup power systems for their dwellings, meaning that they had not had to cut short their meeting. _'Then again, this isn't so bad…it's peaceful here, as the city almost seems deserted because few people go out when the power is down.'_

As for the silver-haired girl herself, she was enjoying the cool breeze and warm sun of late afternoon, standing on the balcony of her apartment, wearing a variant of the red dress and cape that had been her signature fashion for so long, the crimson ribbons in her hair fluttering in the wind as she smiled.

Gazing into the distance, she wondered if Shinji would come over soon, so they could spend the day together.

'_The power outage does mean he logs out of The World, one way or another,' _the Child of Twilight reflected, though her lips twisted downwards slightly as she recalled that phones would not work in a blackout. _'This means we can spend some time in peace…as long as the nagging premonition does not come to pass, of an all-consuming spider from the shadows.'_

* * *

**Asuka Langley Soryu's Residence, NERV HQ**

"NANI?! A POWER FAILURE?! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO KICK HIS ASS!" screeched an irate German girl, cursing and swearing in extremely colorful language. "Verdammt! Herrgott noch einmal! Was für ein Haufen Scheiße! Tufel 'Dark Evangel!'"

Had words the power to kill, the Second Child would not have needed to pilot an Evangelion Unit at all. Rather, simply place her in front of an Angel, and vehement curses would have slaughtered the divine messengers, caustic verbal barbs eroding the light of the soul with the Absolute Terror fields they inspired. Fortunately for the Angels, however, and unfortunately for NERV's constantly overstrained budget (repairing war machines that were being constantly blasted by particle beams, run through by razor tentacles, or half-melted by magma did not come cheap), all her words managed to do was give Captain Katsuragi major headaches when she was (oh-so-frequently) hung over.

On the other hand, sales of the world's most common and popularly used psychoactive drug had spiked, with the irascible purple haired Director of Operations heavily contributing, especially after the installation of the new espresso machines that positively made the bridge personnel weep with joy.

"Did that baka actually think he could defeat me with that golden metal blob of his?" sneered the prideful Asuka Langley Soryu, turning up her nose at the very suggestion, as she ripped off her headset and tossed it against the wall, raging all the while.

_Crack!_

Unfortunately for her personal budget, even her personal M2D goggles, designed and manufactured with all the precision and durability that German engineering was well known for, were not built to withstand being flung against hard metal surfaces every day. While it had faithfully endured such abuses since first being purchased, there comes a time when in course of equipment lifetimes, enough is enough. The M2D goggles, worth about $500 for a standard model, shattered.

The Second Child was left gibbering in incandescent rage, her mouth working up and down in imitation of a fish as she shook, barely able to keep herself from slamming her fist into the wall (this not being to prevent additional property damage, as much as preventing her from breaking her knuckles).

"_**NIEN!**_" she shrieked, seething as she considered everything that had gone wrong in the past couple of weeks, beginning with her encounter in the First Child's hospital room.

'_The Third acts like a complete pervert and kisses me, then I run into some stupid 'Dark Evangel' PKK, the power goes out when I'm about to kill him, and then now my M2D goggles have broken. This is all the fault of that BAKA HENTAI and that blunette. In fact, what right does he have to use the name 'Dark Evangel' anyway? That offends me, as the designated Pilot of Unit 02! That idiot clearly needs to be taught to respect his betters.'_

After a few more moments of howling obscenities, pummeling available furniture, and focusing her anger so as to give her strength, the Red Devil took a deep breath and counted to ten, deciding that she needed a walk. Maybe she could find the Third Child and toy around with him, as the baka so richly deserved for yanking her chain.

Thus resolved, the Second Child walked to the door, and slammed it open—to reveal a strange boy standing in front of her residence, another of the doll-like abominations she so detested. With pale skin, crimson eyes, and silver-hair, he resembled no one as much as the First, even if he did have an oddly satisfied smirk on his face as softly hummed Beethoven's "Ode to Joy."

'_He's mocking me—just like that doll by Mama's side, he's mocking me!'_

Quick as a snake, she acted without thinking, hand blurring through the air as the irascible redhead reached out to deliver a slap powerful enough to knock the intruder off his feet—but somehow, the doll-like boy was able to nonchalantly dodge, taking hold of her wrist after the fact.

"Your speed and combat training are indeed most impressive," the other nearly purred, looking deeply into Asuka's eyes. "Clearly with such spirit, you must be the renowned Asuka Langley Soryu, designated pilot of Evangelion Unit 02. Defeating three Angels, one of which while in a volcano, another using B-Type equipment underwater…your exploits are the stuff of legend!"

"Hmph, that's only natural…I am the best, after all," she sniffed arrogantly, somewhat mollified by the words calculated to stroke her ego pleasurably, some of her anger abating. "The great Second Child, undefeated in combat in all The World."

"Ah yes, The World," the grey-haired boy replied, quirking a slender eyebrow as his gaze drifted to the shattered M2D on the floor. "It must be a popular game indeed for so many to play, and it is an honor to meet such a powerful individual as yourself. The game fascinates me, as it is a wonderful example of how Lilim manage to prevail against terribly unfair odds, using their emotions, using their pain to grant them such power. I am sure you are the type that would show newbies and annoyances the rules of reality, am I right?"

His words manner should have set off all sorts of alarms in her head, but her ego just felt too damned good to let the compliments go, so suppressing the twinges of discomfort.

"Just so…they need to be taught a lesson before they go and spoil someone's day with incessant requests for help, idealistic preaching about PKing, or just getting in the way by not knowing the rules," the Second Child found herself agreeing, as she looked over the stranger. _'He's not that bad looking, better than that—wait, I don't need anyone—stop thinking like that!' _"So who might you be? Have you come to replace the worthless First?"

"Astute and powerful, as well as lovely. I like that," the boy commented in dulcet tones, causing Asuka to blush ever so slightly, the sight of which only intensified that smug smirk of his. "You are correct; I am Kaworu Nagisa, the Fourth Child, designated pilot to Evangelion Unit 00. Like you, I come from NERV Germany…it is nice to see another _Deutschlander _here, and to speak the mother tongue, isn't it?"

'_Ah, good, another German,' _Asuka thought with glee. _'I can get along with them so much better than any of those…others.'_

"Ah, Sie heiße Deutsch?" the redhead asked, eyes lighting up at the thought of another comrade in this strange land. "Well then, _Viel Erfolg! _Let's hope you do better than the First, instead of being a rogue little puppet._"_

"Danke Schön!" Kaworu replied to the well wishing, his smirk softening slightly as his hand slid from the Second's wrist to twine with her fingers. "To be honest, I have not seen much of the city, and I find that I cannot do much more while trapped in NERV HQ during a power failure...so I would be most honored if would you deign to show me around Tokyo-3. I would like to see the place I am protecting and who better than the most beautiful girl in all of Japan to accompany me on my walkabout?"

"Heh, don't get too cocky, Fourth Child," the Second reproved, turning her nose up into the air, but not letting go of the other's hand. "I don't go out with just anyone, you know."

"Won't you indulge me as a fellow German? It does get lonely here in the Geofront without company."

"Hmph, well, fine, I need to take a walk outside anyway, so come if you want," Asuka said at last, pulling the Fourth along with her, as if trying to leave him behind. To her surprise, the silver-haired boy matched her stride for stride.

"I understand, so this is what the Lilim would consider a date," he murmured, altogether too close to her ear for her comfort.

"BAKA! This _is not _a date!" the flustered Second reacted automatically, attacking with her free hand even as she blushed. Imagine her embarrassment when the vaguely amused Kaworu caught the offending appendage with ease and began caressing her open palm. "Wh-what are you…?"

"How forward of you on this _'not a date'," _the Fourth Child answered mildly, exaggerating the appropriate words. "Your body language would indicate that you have something you desire in this situation. Might it be this?"

Her eyes widened in shock, as in a classic performance of part of the Masochism Tango, the Fourth Child leaned his face down to hers, lips coming within millimeters of capturing hers when he pulled back, looking all too smug for his own good.

"Wait, what—_!"_

"Come on, you were the one who wanted to go out," Kaworu said, releasing her palm and cutting off her protests by pulling her towards an exit to the Geofront. "I'll even buy you a new set of M2D goggles, to show my thanks."

"Hmph, fine," she acquiesced at last, looking at him defiantly as face and body burned. "But don't expect me to enjoy—_mmph!"_

This time he did kiss her, deeply and without warning, silencing any further protest as he pulled her tightly to him. Suddenly, rational thought came to a screeching halt, as sensation overwhelmed her faculties—then vanished, so quickly she wondered if it had really happened.

"Don't worry, I won't."

* * *

**Misato's Apartment**

It was strange how silent the apartment could be without electricity, since the omnipresent sound of the refrigerator chilling countless cases of beer had ceased. Misato wasn't home, still at NERV as usual, while Shinji sat motionless in his room, asking himself whether or not what Eris had said in The World had any significance.

'_Eris has said time and time again that the next time Skadi or I met, it would be our deaths—but I don't know if it was her that made Skadi a Lost One,'_ The Third Child wondered to himself, his mind quite troubled by the thought. _'The Asuka might overreact a lot, and not like_…_wait, in the hospital, she said that Ayanami got what she deserved…so it doesn't matter. The only way to bring her back is to defeat Eris, and that is what I'll have to do…'_

"Wark! Wark! Wark!" came the warbling cry of a warm water penguin, which had come through the open door of his room and was now pecking at his pants. Knowing that this would not cease, and that the creature was more than capable of continuing until the Third was black and blue all over, Shinji quickly gave in to avoid further injury.

"Alright Pen-Pen, I'll make you something to eat," he relented, patting the penguin affectionately on the head as he roses and tramped over to the kitchen. _'Thank goodness for the simple problems in life,_ _like Misato being hung over, or Pen-Pen being hungry. It takes my mind off AIDA-PCs, Angels, and more complicated things, even if only for a while.'_

His life had never been quite normal, after all, not since the day he was born. From all the abandonment and loss in his life, it seemed that destiny was shaping him to become an anti-hero of sorts, doing what he had to do for the sake of the world. By now, he was coming to understand that his father didn't really care about him, but he knew that other people did.

'_That's right…I promised Remeiki that I'd go visit her once I logged out,'_ the Third Child recalled with a smile, feeling a bit more secure as he headed out the door.

**

* * *

  
**

**Morganna's Apartment**

In the span of lifetimes, people changed, events transpired, and the world itself would change. Each mortal lived, floating within the great ocean of space-time, through a myriad of fractured moments, along the path of spider lilies—with all remaining fleeting memories that would soon fade, shimmering with warmth, yet evanescent, the only true souvenir of past.

In the lazy time that most called afternoon, a young girl watched the world go by, hair shining like fire as she was bathed in the sun. To her, each shard of time was precious, poignant memories all, despite where the path might one day lead. She had already walked the lily-lined path of no return once in her life, as her nature would allow her no less. And sometimes, she yearned for the places she had been: the unchangeable home town that had been the Aqua Capital; the place of adventure carved from the impossibly tall spires of stone and hidden above the clouds called the Weaver Guardian, where the great winds howled incessant through day and night; the great Ariel City, a flying fortress ensconced in the sky; the Cultural City, a place of streets and canals, of shops, bars, and parks—a place of people bathed in eternal night; and the Relic City, the holy city of shrines.

'_Destiny…some called it a City of Destiny, a place where one could take the future into one's own hands…and yet in the grand scale, everything is lost, like tears in the rain…'_

Standing on the balcony of the apartment she shared with her distant mother, the Child of Twilight was herself a set of contradictions and enigmas, all bound up with her nature, and what she might in time become. Elegant and pure she might seem to some, sharp-tongued and quick-witted to others, but there were things in her past that scarred her still, even if she was no longer of the world where she had first been born.

"Alas the truth unbeknownst," she murmured, placing her hands over her heart, as she quoted the Epitaph, "awaiting her at journey's end, eternal mourning for her land…"

The sound of footsteps _clip-clip-clopping_ on the pavement below caught her attention, and the girl named Lycoris looked down, to see the rapidly approaching form of Shinji Ikari, who had apparently kept his promise to visit her after all.

'_But I wonder which of Light's great trees will you choose…Kether or Chokmah in the dead world of Indieglut Lugh…? And will your choice hold salvation or destruction in the end?'_

She mulled over these shifting thoughts as she walked to the door, opening it just as the Third Child leaned forward to knock—subsequently causing him to lose his balance and send both of them tumbling to the floor in a tangled heap, that to anyone else would have been an extremely compromising position eliciting cries of "This isn't what it looks like" and nosebleed gushers.

"I-uh-you, came over-uh—" While Shinji Ikari may not have been quite the accidental pervert that someone like, say, Keitaro Urashima always ended up accused of being, his stammer and blush skills were second to none. All the more so when he found himself on top of a lovely young woman who just so happened to be his girlfriend, with the two of them alone in her apartment. Truly, the light of a N2 mine was no match for the blaze of his cheeks.

"Yes, I'm happy you came too, Ecchi-kun," Lycoris teased with a mischievous tone, pouting and giving him a wide-eyed expression. "But do you really have to be so forward every time we meet? Do you only like me for my bo—_mmph!_ _Mmm…_"

Fortunately, the Third Child had picked up a little more self-confidence in the time that he and Lycoris had been together, and so he delivered one of the time-honored "shut up kisses" to stop the teasing. His girlfriend was witty and clever, true, but if she couldn't speak from lack of rational thought…then she'd be his equal, since he was intoxicated by simply being this close to her.

When the kiss ended after several minutes, both of them were flushed, with the two looking deeply into each other's eyes almost shyly. While they had kissed before on quite a few occasions, it had always been the silver-haired girl who had initiated, not he, so this time was special.

"I was hoping you'd do that," she murmured into his ear, wrapping her arms about his neck and pulling his head down to hers. "That's the first time…you kissed me like that. But since you don't have much practice, why don't we try that again, hmm?"

Dazed by her words, Shinji could only nod, the slight movement bringing their lips together once more.

**

* * *

  
**

**Entrance to NERV HQ**

Great steel doors warded the entrance to the main access way to the Geofront, allowing through only those who had a valid NERV ID, or who knew the override code for the door. Normally, this meant quick, efficient passage through the gates, allowing workers to come and go with ease, but today—

"God's in His Heaven…All's right with the world. Riiight…evidently not, if the doors won't open," muttered a somewhat irate Maya Ibuki, swiping the defective piece of plastic through the reader once more, to no avail. _'First, I get hit on by Kaji, then apparently Siarl was sighted and two of my dothackers attacked, and now there's a power failure…could things possible get any worse?'_

The mousy brunette happened to glance at the blood red logo emblazoned above the blast doors, with the NERV motto and a fig-leaf.

'_Yes, of course, the fig leaf, with which humans hide their nakedness after eating from the Tree of Knowledge and being barred from the Tree of Life,'_ she thought, _'a perfect metaphor for the AT field that separates us as individuals.'_

This time, realizing that something was probably wrong with the reader, the level-headed bridge tech opened up a hidden panel on the wall and input the requisite override code to open the door. Yet again, nothing happened. No _ker-clunk _of the door unlocking, no _snap-hiss_ as a door slid open, nothing.

Suspecting that there was something amiss in the grander scale, Maya took out her cell phone, nodding sagely when she saw that there no reception in the area.

'_This shouldn't be possible, since the only way there would be a loss of coverage is if the power went out, and the Geofront has main, auxiliary, and backup power, as it was designed to be self-sufficient, even if isolated from the outside world,' _mused the brunette, sighing as she realized what this must have been. _'Sabotage…Agent Kaji is ahead of schedule. I'll just have to find another way into—'_

A low flying buzz caused her to look up, distracting her from her thoughts.

'_What now?'_

"ATTENTION!" an amplified rang out from the fighter plane. "This is the Third District Japan Air Self Defense force. An unidentified object is currently approaching this area. Residents, please report to your designated shelters immediately. This is not a drill."

Maya had to forcibly suppress a loud groan as she gritted her teeth. Apparently, the demon Murphy had struck again, even invoking the aid of a celestial rival to make her life miserable. Well, that was it then, there was no help for it…

'_I still have one last means of communication, and if power really has gone down, any reserves will likely be routed to the MAGI and Central Dogma,' _the bridge tech recalled from operating procedures. _'This means that this is the best chance to get a signal through without risk of interception.'_

Tucked into her pocket was a private mobile radio-communications device (colloquially, a walkie-talkie) of extremely high quality, the best one could buy on the civilian market. Designed like a watch, with 5 km range and voice activated operation, it was usually inconspicuous and linked to only one other device. Normally, she would only use it if there was an emergency, and then, never so close to NERV HQ, since the risk of signal interception was so high, but during a power outage…

She ducked around a corner and spoke in a harsh, commanding tone that very few would have expected of her.

"Bith, we have a problem."

* * *

**Morganna's Apartment**

After some time had passed, the odd couple of Shinji Ikari and Lycoris finally managed to break off their "practice session", closing the door and moving on into the main room of the apartment, just enjoying each other's company. His reaction to the residence was fairly predictable, in the same style of shock and awe as evidenced when he had visited Ayanami's apartment, just for a completely different reason.

'_This is…so very clean and spacious…and it seems like the walls are—wow…Reimeiki-chan's place is just surreal,' _was all his mind could come up with, stunned by his surroundings. _'Is this how people live in Germany or something?'_

Sensing movement, his gaze flickered to the walls, where he gasped to see what seemed like the city of Mac Anu in full color and depth. And in a prominent spot was—

"Reimeiki-chan…is this…?" he trailed off, already fairly sure of the answer in his mind.

"Yes," she replied after a moment or two, a wistful expression gracing her visage. "That is a picture of my family…including my father Harald Hoerwick and my mother Emma Wielant."

Shinji's eyes goggled at the two names Lycoris had so casually let slip.

"You mean…the creator of The World and the author of the Epitaph of Twilight?" he asked, almost disbelieving. Yet, the silver-haired girl had often referred to The World as a second home and understood the Epitaph as if she'd grown up with it, so it was possible. Something else also bothered him as well. "And what is Aranami-sensei doing in the picture?"

"Yes…they were my parents," she whispered, not exactly speaking a lie. Without them, she would never have been born, after all. "As for Aranami-sensei, it's…complicated. She was…like an older sister to me, until my father died, his soul taken by The World. But she and I are related, and right now, she's my guardian. I do have another sister though..."

"Aura," Shinji breathed, supplying the answer.

"Yes, Aura," confirmed Lycoris. "She's actually my younger sister, though you can't tell from the pictures, can you? This is her as a little girl, and this is her grown up. Father always used to call her the shining one—I was the one that was never wanted."

She kept better control of herself this time, not wanting her lover to fret over her too much. Besides, the silver haired girl had to say something about her past sooner or later…

"This is…Aura?" the Third Child mumbled, glancing at the pictures he was being shown. The most prominent figure was a girl with white hair curling around her face, extending into a massive ball of fluff stretching past her waist, wearing white. "I can see the family resemblance…it's the hair, isn't it? Even if each of you seems to have your own little quirks, like what colors you prefer."

"Yes. I like the color red, Aura liked the color white, and Aranami-sensei likes the color black," Lycoris murmured gently. "The liminal sisters of twilight, Father used to call us…Aranami-sensei as dusk, myself as twilight, and Aura as the dawn. This probably also explains why my character in The World looks the way it does, because it was created long ago—it survived the fire because it is linked to the game's black box. This is Aura in her form as a goddess…"

The new picture slid before his eyes showed a young woman with light blue eyes wavy lavender hair that fell past her shoulders. She wore a fluidly flowing dress, with a white shawl and a silver infinity brooch.

"This looks…"

"…very much like I'm wearing now, right?" the silver-haired girl asked, gesturing to her red ensemble of dress, cape, and infinity brooch. "Well, we are sisters, just as Rumor said…even if I am alive here, and she only within The World."

"…only within…The World?"

"Five years ago, Aura died in this world, her soul being absorbed into the world network to stop the Second Network Crisis," she said, her petite form trembling all the while. "Inside The World, she confronted the phase called Corbenik, sacrificing her existence and individuality—I wonder if she knew she would be reborn as a goddess?"

"So that's why you always cried…because of what happened to your sister," Shinji whispered, putting his arms around the silver-haired girl and just holding her for a time. "And now, she's disappeared from The World, right?"

A brief nod was all the confirmation he needed to hear, as he held her tightly.

"My mother…died when I was very young as well," the Third Child recalled, thinking of the day when his parents had taken him to GEHRIN, what NERV had once been called. "Her mind and body were absorbed by EVA 01 during an early activation experiment."

"Isn't that the purple robot you pilot?" the girl asked intently, pulling back to look at him quizzically. "How do you find the strength, when you know what happened in the past?"

Shinji only smiled faintly, as he embraced his lover once more.

"I could ask you the same thing—having so much happen, and yet going back to The World."

A silence of sorts ensued, with all still except for their mingled breaths.

"It is my bond to all people, to my sister, to the world," Lycoris said at last, closing her eyes and resting her delicate frame against the brown-haired boy. "It is something precious to me, even with all that has happened—a place of poignant memories. That's what 'lycoris' means in the language of flowers, memories."

"As for me, I pilot because…I'm too scared to run away," the boy sighed, honesty overcoming him. "Because it's something only I can do, and if I don't then people will get hurt. But mostly, I pilot because I swore to see things through to the end, and because there are people I want to protect. I just want to know why the Angels keep attacking us, keep coming to Tokyo-3?"

"The messengers of God," the silver-haired girl replied distantly, thinking of the past, "The Angels are much like the phases of the Wave, and monsters of legend. They're afraid—afraid to die, and so seek out what can threaten them, or are called by something to this place. Tokyo-3 is like a giant of light standing on a hill, where the seeds of the tree of knowledge have finally borne fruit—they come here because they're scared, because some power threatens them and they feel their only recourse is to find it before it wakes."

"How—?"

"At least, that's what I think from what I know of the Wave," she murmured, falling silent. The two remained in silence, each leaning against the other, until a loud buzzing from outside interrupted their moment together.

"This is the Third District Japan Air Self Defense force," broadcast a loud metallic voice. "An unidentified object is currently approaching this area."

"Angel Attack," Shinji whispered, going pale. "Do you have a shelter nearby?"

Lycoris nodded.

"It's not too far from here, let's go," she said, moving as quickly and efficiently as her character in The World.

Both teenagers left the apartment, preparing to go their separate ways when with a horrible screech, a van pulled up in front of them. In the driver's seat was—

"Lt. Hyuga?" Shinji asked uncertainly.

"Ah, Ikari Shinji, she said you would be here," the bridge tech replied, as one of the rear doors slid open. "Get in, both of you, we have to get to NERV ASAP."

As soon as they had gotten into the vehicle, the door slammed shut, and Makoto Hyuga showed that his driving skills could (and did) rival Misato Katsuragi's when they had to.

* * *

**Streets of Tokyo-3**

Lt. Makoto Hyuga, one of the bridge technicians of NERV, had just been minding his own business, enjoying the sunshine while retrieving a co-worker's laundry for her, when he received the shock of his life. First, a plane had buzzed by, with the announcement that an unidentified object was on its way to Tokyo-3 (the city where unidentified object = Angel, whereas in old Tokyo, unidentified object = Godzilla, at least in the movies). Then, the private wrist-mounted radio communications device (watch radio) that he wore for old time's sake had buzzed to life, with an unexpected voice issuing from the other end.

'_It seems that my old employer is alive and well, and moreover, that she has business in Tokyo-3.'_

He was rather startled when the voice had ordered him to commandeer a vehicle, informing him of the power outage and giving him the locations of the Third Child and his fellow bridge tech Maya Ibuki before falling silent. Out of habit and long conditioning, he immediately obeyed, stopping a van that was urging civilians to remain calm and follow the example of Takahashi Nozomu, whoever he was.

'_It is definitely a wonder how quickly others listen when a NERV ID is shown,' _he mused, as he sped through the streets of Tokyo-3, the broadcast announcement having been changed from "stay calm" to essentially "This is an emergency vehicle." _'I wonder how a power outage could have happened though, in this city, the pinnacle of modern science.'_

Putting those thoughts aside though, he followed the directions he'd been given, arriving at his first destination in time to pick up the Third Child and his silver-haired companion. Scarcely had they boarded, when Makoto zoomed off once again, driving at a frenetic pace through the empty streets until they came to the usual entrance of NERV HQ.

"Don't get off here," he said brusquely, forestalling any attempt to disembark. "The power grid is down, so the readers aren't working. We're just here to pick up someone else."

To Shinji's surprise, the person who opened the door and got in was Maya Ibuki, one of the other bridge techs of NERV.

"Hello, Ikari-kun, Hakubo-san, and thank you, Makoto," the mousy brunette greeted with a friendly smile, as the vehicle peeled off once again, this time headed for what seemed like a blocked off tunnel. "How did you know I was here?"

"My superior informed me of your location," was the entirety of what bespectacled tech said, whereupon Maya smiled faintly. _'Good, he doesn't know who I am yet.'_

"Hey wait, this is a dead end, you know!" one of the civilians in the car suddenly realized, seeing the wooden board stretched across the tunnel mouth grow ever larger in view.

"That's fine," declared Makoto's intensely focused voice, "It's an emergency, and we're going in!"

"OK," another of the civilians replied, but she changed her tune as soon as the car crashed through boards and into the pitch-black of the abandoned access tunnel without stopping. "No! Wait! I take it back! Stop it!"

'_The Geofront certainly looks…different without power_,' Shinji thought, observing the scenery speeding by so as not to focus on the prospect of imminent death. Piloting Evangelion units into battle against units, facing down PKs, those he could accept the risks from those, as death was an occupational hazard in his non-OSHA compliant workplace—dying from the driving of someone like Misato (or apparently Makoto when he unsealed his skills) was not in his scenario.

'_An empty hall, hollowed from a black moon—the black box from which souls come,' _was Lycoris' thoughts on the matter, as she found it similar to the Creator's Room in The World in some ways. _'Hidden from the surface world, yet colonized by this realm of shadowed ones…the Navel of Lake, the place that hides heaven.'_

Maya simply remained calm, rather thankful that her associate had been in range of her communications device.

They sped on, a point of light hurling itself unto the darkness, through roads and corridors, until finally—_CRASH! BOOM! _Impact.

In the contest of unstoppable force vs. immovable object, the result is generally a massive explosion. In the same way, the final barrier baring entrance to NERV's control room splintered and blew apart, as the car careened to a halt in the center of the vast room, the staff nearby cowering in fear.

Fulfilling his duty, Lt. Hyuga threw the emergency brake and leapt out of the car, saluting as he made his report.

"An Angel is coming now," he reported. "I suggest that Eva be readied for a launch."

Behind him, Maya exited the vehicle, and moved to stand aside her associate.

"I have visual confirmation of the Angel, and second the suggestion."

Commander Ikari, the Bastard King of NERV, nodded gruffly and turned to his former teacher, Sub-commander Fuyutsuki.

"Fuyutsuki, I'm leaving everything to you," the severe man announced. "I am going to the cage to prepare the Evas for a sortie."

The old man fractionally raised an eyebrow.

"You mean that you'll operate them manually?" the Sub-Commander asked askance, with a hint of incredulity in his voice.

"We have a diesel generator for an emergency," the Commander replied, preparing to leave.

"But we have no pilots—"

He was cut off by the sound of an unexpected voice.

"One just arrived…Father."

* * *

**NERV HQ Access way, Route-07**

After the earlier set of incidents, the Second and Fourth Children had been steadily making their way towards the surface, nearly making their way out of the Geo-front entirely when a car had sped by above them, warning of an impending Angel Attack.

"It does not normally take this long to get from headquarters to the surface," Kaworu mused aloud, glancing at his red-headed companion. "Are you quite sure this is the right way?"

"Baka! Of course I'm sure," Asuka Langley Soryu responded in a huff. "I've live in the Geo-front, I should know."

"…so you say, so you say," the enigmatic grey-haired boy murmured, rolling his eyes.

"Why are you so hung up on every word I say?" the Second Child asked, tone low and dangerous, as if a cornered animal about to attack.

"Because I enjoy the sound of your voice…," the other responded, following the path she took. "The way you have overcome pain, avoiding contact of the first kind at all costs. You seek to be ignorant of others, never being betrayed or hurt, even if you are fragile. Because you are worthy of love."

"Love?" the redhead repeated, stopping in her tracks, pretty sure she was not going to enjoy what she was going to hear.

"I mean, I love you."

Of all the verbal ammunition that could have been employed against the proud Asuka, the three little words oft discussed and seldom spoken proved super-effective, being the verbal equivalent of the positron cannon that had blown apart Ramiel.

A heavy silence hung in the air between them, before Asuka, being the dark action girl she was, stepped forward and slapped the Fourth with a resounding—well, it would have been resounding, if he hadn't simply caught her wrist again.

"B-b-baka! What are you saying?!" she protested, cheeks burning in the dimness.

"Be quiet for a moment," the other spoke, suddenly becoming more businesslike. "I hear a voice."

Sure enough, the familiar voice of one bridge technician or another echoed in the distance, as a swift light sped past.

"An Angel is coming, repeat...an Angel is coming, repeat, an Angel is coming now!"

As the warning faded away, the two looked at looked at each other.

"Why don't we settle our personal business later, after the Angel is dealt with?" Kaworu Nagisa asked in that silky smooth voice of his, releasing his hold on the Second's wrist.

"Heh, that's the first smart thing you've said today," the redhead snarked, happy to dodge having to reply to the embarrassing statement the other had said.

They began to walk back along the way they came, with Kaworu attempting conversation to a reluctant Asuka.

"Tell me, what do you think Angels are?" the one who was really the Angel of Free Will asked. He was rather curious about what she should say, considering that he was one of the aforementioned beings.

"Eh? What're you babbling about at a time like this?" she asked harshly, intending to berate him for wasting her time and energy with this failed outing.

"The Angels," the grey-haired boy repeated with a smile. "The messengers of God…why is it that we fight them? From the point of view of the greatest pilot, that is."

"Unidentified things are invading us," the Second Child huffed. "So it's only natural that we'd have to fight to protect ourselves."

Continuing on through the drab metal passageway, they came to a branch in the path, with Asuka, the nominal party leader misremembering from which one they had come.

"Two paths diverged in a yellow wood," Kaworu quoted from the famous poem. "Though this place is not yellow, nor a wood. So, from whence did we come, great leader?"

"It was…to the right," Asuka recalled uncertainly, "Yes, to the right, I'm sure of it."

"I may be mistaken, but I believe we came from the left," the Fourth Child tried to correct, only for the Second's temper to flare again.

"Don't try to confuse me! You were the one who asked me to take you around, so you'd better follow me," she scolded him, whereupon the grey-haired Nagisa raised his hands in mock surrender.

"As you wish…dear Bringer of Strife."

Asuka took two steps forward, then whirled about, staring at the enigmatic other fiercely.

"How in the hell do you know that name?" she hissed threateningly, looming over him with sheer force of personality.

"You do know you are one of the most famous players in The World, right?" Kaworu of the Seashore mildly pointed out. "When you mentioned that you played The World and that you were from Germany, I knew you must be she, as your power and skill are evident in both worlds."

It seemed that the key to Asuka's AIDA-infested heart was apparently through her ego.

"Really?" she asked, smirking. "And what sorts of things do they say?"

"I'm sure there's no need for me to repeat the glowing praises of The World, or the rumors of which you have no doubt heard, but it is said that you are a goddess of battle who has never met her match," the boy replied, conveniently forgetting to mention anything about blue-haired players, dolls, or his own identity in The World.

"Hmph, then I guess they're not complete idiots after all," Asuka allowed, as they made their way along the access way, coming at last to a door. "Ah, here we are now!"

With a fierce "kiya!", the Second Child kicked opened the portal before her, the light of the outside world streaming in to reveal—a massive arachnid with many eyes, the one on its belly gushing forth some form of black liquid like an open wound.

"Aiiiie!" she yelped, pulling the door closed with a resounding _clang! _Of course, her pride would not allow her to admit she was mistaken, so she justified herself by saying, "Well, we received visual confirmation of the Angel, so let's be on our way."

* * *

**Evangelion Cages, NERV HQ**

After a great deal of effort on the part of the staff of NERV (including Commander Ikari, and surprisingly, his son), two of the three Evangelion units had been prepared for combat. Evangelion Unit 00 had not yet been tested with the Fourth Child, and as much as NERV had benefited from the million to one chance of Shinji activating Unit 01 on his first try, they were not about to risk it again. An Angel was more than enough to deal with without the threat of a berserk Eva.

With rope and tackle, pulley and winch, the staff members had maneuvered the entry plugs into position for insertion and attached the auxiliary battery packs. Now all that remained was to wait for the arrival of another pilot—Shinji was present, and he _did_ have a track record for defeating Angels on his own, but it was normally best to have backup.

By now, the Third Child had suited up and had mentally prepared himself for the fight to come. There was no use in chanting his usual mantra of "_I mustn't run away," _for where was there to run to? Without power, escaping the Geofront was no simple matter, and he couldn't run anyway, not with those he had to protect here.

'_That's right…I'm right here, the Dark Evangel is right here…'_

Catching sight of the silver-haired Lycoris, who had been standing over to the side (as there had been no hands to spare to escort her to a more secure location), Shinji walked over to her with a wan smile.

"Well, I'm off again…another life threatening battle. This time, I'll protect you, ok?" he asked, cupping her cheek briefly and looking into her eyes.

"You'd better come back to me, Ecchi-kun," Lycoris quipped, golden eyes boring into his blue. "At least if you want to live up to your nickname at all."

Flushing once more (which he would thankfully attribute to the heat, as the impacted life-support systems of the Geofront had led to the air becoming stale and muggy), the Third Child only nodded.

Just then, a panicked voice called out over the speaker system: the target has halted just above the Geofront.

"Hurry the preparations!" ordered Dr. Akagi, who along with Commander Ikari, were overseeing the manual preparation of the EVA Units. "There's no more time. We cannot afford to wait for the other Children any longer. All hands, prepare for launch!"

"Ready Eva-01 for launch!" barked Gendo, gesturing for Shinji to board the entry plug, which the Third did without fuss or hesitation.

With the help of the staff, Shinji Ikari climbed into his entry plug, seating himself within the throne of the soul with a strange fire in his eyes. The plug was inserted, auxiliary power sources equipped, lock bolts removed—and with that Evangelion Unit 01 was launched, or at least, was released in time to tear off its restraints and crawl to the enemy's location.

"We're ready, let's move out!" came the order.

"To look ahead to tomorrow, to look backward to the past, one must live in the focus of the now," Shinji recited, steeling himself for yet another solo battle. It would be his first solo operation since the battle against the Fourth, but this time, he was not afraid. He had the experience of the virtual room to aid him, had people counting on him, and those he wanted to protect. _'I can do nothing but look ahead, to advance…'_

Standard armament for this battle included two progressive-knives and a rifle, amazingly like his usual equipment load out both in The World and in the virtual room. It was too bad that magic couldn't exist as well, so he could just use a paralysis spell on the Angel, but one couldn't have everything, after all. And though he was on battery power, the Third Child had often practiced under time constraints, especially in the days before the Second had arrived.

'_I'll win this fight for you Ayanami…because you have helped me as a pilot, and as a friend.'_

Having made his way out of the cage, Shinji found himself experiencing firsthand the downsides of launching a mecha without the energy to trigger a launch catapult, and without convenient access corridors. Indeed, just like in a science-fiction film, the only means of access to the launch shaft was a narrow maintenance tunnel.

'_Eh, I've been in worse dungeons in The World…this isn't so bad…'_

After a minute of crawling through the cramped duct, he finally spotted his objective.

"Vertical shaft in sight," he muttered to himself, kicking open the blast door that blocked his way. It fell quite a ways with a loud _clang!_, but he paid it no note, since of greater concern was his flying leap—_there! _Now he was in the middle of the shaft, bracing himself from falling with his Eva's arms and legs, climbing slowly up towards the distant light.

"4 minutes remaining to battery power, I'd better hurry," he mumbled, looking up as a spray of something rained down the shaft, some of it landing on the pylons of his EVA. Where it touched, it hissed and burned away the armor, and Shinji began to feel a burning sensation in his shoulder blades.

'_The Angel is attacking with acid, and I can't dodge it or I'll run out of power… I don't have a choice if I'm going to be able to reach it in time. Deploying AT Field…'_

Drain on the batteries suddenly increased, and Shinji found himself redoubling his efforts to climb upwards.

'_Maybe…hmm, radio disabled, life support…disabled. I should have enough oxygen to last for this fight, even if the LCL gets stale. There are people counting on me…Reimeiki-chan is down there. I can't retreat.'_

The torrent of acid rained down in sheets, but finding no purchase on the EVA (due to the AT field), settled for searing the sides of the shaft instead. But however much he blocked out, he would encounter more, as the EVA's hands and feet braced itself against the now-corrosive surfaces. His own hands hurt, stung, burned, but he gritted his teeth and continued on—pain hadn't stopped him during the Fourth Angel battle, as pain hadn't stopped Ayanami during the battle against the Fifth, and so it wouldn't stop him here.

"3 minute remaining"

He climbed further, letting the fight or flight reaction fill his body with a surge of adrenaline as he came within range of the Angel's AT field. He would need it in order to withstand the next few minutes, as the moment his field neutralized the Angel's, he would have to go on the offensive.

'_Expanding field to max strength, eroding phase space…center the target, pull the switch!'_

Bringing the rifle up and forward, Shinji fired, emptying the entire magazine of explosive flechette rounds into the enemy, as acid dripped upon his vulnerable form, searing his Eva's flesh, melting through his mech's armor with an audible hiss. But he did not relent, did not stop moving forward, until finally he emerged from the pit, armor half melted, 1 minute remaining to battery life.

Quickly, he dropped the empty rifle down the shaft, switching to dual prog knives as EVA 01 made contact with the street and rolled out of the way of the acid slinging central eye of the arachnid-like creature.

The Angel roared in pain from its injuries, turning about to face him, when Shinji launched EVA 01 into the air, and onto the Angel's main body, straddling it with his legs.

"Now…DIE!" he hissed through the pain, using both prog knives to slash at the Angel with a strength born of fury. The first slash cut through the tough hide, the second tendon and musculature, the third internal organs, and the fourth revealed the core. Time was running down, with 30 seconds to go, as he plunged both knives down into the core, sparks flying as the vibrating blade sliced through the protective outer shell of the core, as the spider thrashed and flailed like a wounded bull, trying to throw him off.

But the Third Child held on, and as the battery died, the prog knives penetrated—the core cracked, and the target went silent.

Down below, shouts of celebration rang from the gathered crew out.

"He did it! The Third Child did it!"

"Hmm…" If one looked closely, one might even see the hint of a smile on the Commander's face as the gruff man disappeared back to his office.

Unnoticed amidst all the commotion, the cover fell from a ventilation duct, with Asuka and Kaworu following to land in a tangled heap.

"Ugh," the Second Child said, before shaking it off and turning to the nearby Dr. Akagi. "Asuka Langley Soryu, Pilot of Evangelion Unit 02, reporting for duty."

"Oh, it's you two," the bottle blond said dismissively. "You can go, the Third has already defeated the Angel."

"What...?" Asuka whispered, eyes widening in shock. '_Verdammt Invincible Shinji! Why did you do this to me? Humiliating me once again by stealing my kill…why does he get all the credit? I'm the best pilot! ME! Why doesn't he just DIE?!'_

* * *

**Outskirts of Tokyo-3**

After the seemingly-endless tedium of paperwork, debriefings, congratulations, and recovery operations, Shinji Ikari had finally been released from duty, while the rest of NERV worked to restore power to the city. It had been a long day, what with the blackout, the confrontation with Eris, the battle against an AIDA, and then a solo battle against this spider-like Angel, but in the end, he found himself to be content. As he left, he was joined by his silver-haired lover Lycoris, who had been waiting for him, and together, they had walked hand in hand to the outskirts of the city, enjoying the gentle breeze at twilight.

Eventually, they had come to a grassy knoll not too far from the city limits, where they reclined side by side, sharing one another's warmth as they watched the stars come out, twinkling one after another.

"It's ironic how beautiful the night can be without the pollution of artificial light," Shinji remarked, looking over at the girl beside him, thinking her the brightest of them all.

"And yet so many people are afraid of the dark," Lycoris murmured in reply, before a constellation piqued her interest. She reached out, pointing at what had caught her eye. "Do you see that formation?"

When he nodded, the silver-haired girl continued, all the while snuggling closer to him.

"It's called the Northern Cross, or Cygnus the Swan," she explained, "and its myth was that when Phaëthon, ill-fated son of Apollo, was struck down by Zeus, his remains were scattered all around the river Eridanus. A king named Cycnus was his relative, and in wanting to give him a proper burial, dived again and again into the river of the underworld to retrieve his parts. Just as your father does care about you, even if he doesn't show it much…"

"My father?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes…since now I've met yours, as you've met mine," the silver-haired girl whispered quietly.

"When…?"

"The Inverted Castle," was the gentle response. "Do you remember what happened after you pulled your weapon from the stone?"

"The rippling room with the upside-down man who asked about his daughter?" Shinji recalled, his eyes widening in realization at who the daughter might have been.

"Yes, those fragments are all that remain of my father, and he was asking of Aura," Lycoris sighed, shaking her head. "She's the reason he went into The World, even letting himself be transformed, because he cared about her that much."

"Oh…" Shinji found himself without anything to say, and so relaxed in the company of the one he loved, listening to the sounds of their breaths intertwine.

After a time, the Child of Twilight broke the silence with a question

"…do you know what my favorite star is?" she inquired, looking over at her boyfriend to see him shaking his head. "The blue-and-golden double star that forms the head of the Cygnus, the star they call Alberio."

"Blue and golden…like the color of our eyes," Shinji said with a smile, drawing Lycoris close to him in a warm embrace.

The breeze fluttered around the two lovers, its soft caress at once soothing and chilling. Shivering a little, they cuddled close to one another, enjoying a moment of peace outside their troubled lives.


	34. Login 14: Chromatic Fragmentation

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Chromatic Fragmentation**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga, Sea of Data**

Upon the central bridge of the Net Slums stood the one who had been mistress of the data underworld through both iterations of The World, the Harvest Cleric Tsukinoki, better known as Helba, Queen of the Dark, a hacker of legendary skill, rumored to be the best of any living. Looking out at the broad vistas of The World spread before her like a ruler surveying her domain, a place that she cared for deeply as a second home, she managed a faint smile.

For all too brief a moment, her normally stern features softened ever so slightly, as the wind rustled the folds and draperies of her flowing white dress outlined with royal purple triangular designs. As always, her eyes were hidden behind the red-gold visor fitted in her queen's helm, but nonetheless, one could almost feel a sense of wistfulness seeping out from them.

'_I may not be the Goddess of The World, yet I understand the order The World wishes from watching over it for so long,' _the Sorceress in White mused, remembering the events of long ago, and all that had since transpired—all the people she had guided, all the ones she had protected, all the memories lingering in her mind. _'This place has been kind to me, a refuge for a time from the more mundane worries of everyday existence, reflecting the warmth of the Dawn, letting me reach beyond myself in the age of the gods. With utmost care, the winds of change have wafted, in the land of Twilight, under the moon.'_

While Queen of the Dark, she had helped to usher in a new dawn after the Twilight of the old Gods, and now it seemed she strove for dawn again, in the wake of Aura's disappearance.

'_I do know that Aura is part of The World, as Morganna was before her, as dear Zefie has told me, but I also know that she has returned to the Sea of Data so as to let humanity choose its own path. Would that the God of earth would remain in his heaven—then all would be right with the world!'_

"Is something on your mind, my Queen?" a voice inquired solicitously from beside her. Twas her old friend Rumor, walking around in his new guise, golden eyes looking out unblinking from the fringes of his cropped blue-silver hair. Even though she had performed the data graft herself, Rumor's—no, Zelkova's—new appearance still sometimes took her by surprise. "Rumor has it that the memories of past might sometimes rise like wave, even for you."

Gone was the boy who used to be her emissary, the personification of rumors throughout The World—the mini-Harvest Cleric with tousled gray hair, big blue eyes, and a small teardrop shaped tattoo on his left cheek, dressed in dark blue robes fringed with what looked like depictions of ocean surf. Indeed, even Rumor's old affectation of prefacing his words with "Rumor says" or "Rumor has it" were now occurring much less frequently than before, cutting away one of the last few ties the Queen of the Dark had to the bygone days of the first version of The World.

"Greetings, old friend," the Sorceress in White voiced with a small sigh. "It seems you know me well, Rumor. As you suspect, I am simply pondering the events of past, as well as the possibilities in the future to unfold. Things such as the birth of the Goddess, the rise of AIDA, and each of the roles that we must play, old friend."

"Roles?" the young boy inquired, eyes curious as ever, if perhaps slightly more expressive. Though he had changed drastically in form, Helba smiled to note that the Flick Reaper born of Rumor's code still held in hand a staff like a frozen whirlpool, a sign that not everything had changed from what she knew.

"For many years, Net Slum has been ruled by a Queen," Tsukinoki murmured distantly, her tone contemplative. "For many years, I have watched over The World—yet with events in the other world, the Angels of which I have spoken, the time may soon come when I will walk The World no more."

"When you walk The World no more..." the newly-minted Zelkova repeated to himself, before frowning and looking in the direction of the fields below. "But what will we of the Net Slums do without you, you who have ever guided and protected us, given us refuge in troubled times?"

For the first time in a while, the smile on the Sorceress in White's face was somewhat drawn and tired, as she looked down upon the Lost Ground of Hulle Granz Cathedral, shaking her head at all that had transpired in that church in her long tenure as the Queen of the Dark.

"Net Slum will follow in the way of The World, it seems," the Sorcerer-Queen replied, her lips quirking into a more neutral expression. "As the Goddess has returned to the Sea of Data to sleep, returning the future of The World to the hands of those who dwell within it, so will I hand the future of the Slums to those who have long walked beside me. Rumor has it that instead of a 'queen', Net Slum will have a 'King.'"

"A king?"

"Yes, for I have chosen a successor," Tsukinoki stated, reaching up and removing her helm and visor, an action that few, if any, had ever witnessed in The World. Turning to regard the young boy who had accompanied her through the End of the old World, and into the new, her green eyes seemed almost misty as they reflected the light of dawn. "The one who wove legends and spun them for the benefit of those of The World, whose words have inspired the generations who came about in the Age of Aura, the one who has been my friend and loyal companion through both the old World and the new."

"Ah…then you mean…" the former Rumor looked down demurely, unsure of how to reply to this new piece of information. It was an honor to be so chosen, to be sure, but to have this responsibility thrust upon him so suddenly. "But, my queen…I am not worthy of…"

For the first time, the young personification of stories and bards found himself speechless as the Queen of the Dark reached down and affectionately ruffled his hair with a gentle smile.

"Rumor, old friend, if not you, then who?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. "You have been by my side since the birth of Aura, and you love The World more than almost anyone else. This place is your home, one you are bound to by nature and by choice. Long ago, when you first spoke to me about the types of players in The World, you said that there were two, those who like it and those who don't, and that eventually, both would quit. My time is coming, and there is no one I trust more so than you, old friend, for you will be the foundation of the new Net Slums."

A lone tear traveled down her cheek as the queenly mask allowed a trace of inner turmoil to leak through—but only for a moment, before it slid back down with an iron _thud!_

"More pragmatically," she continued, turning away and replacing her visor-helm upon her head, "you understand the nature of The World, and you have risked grievous harm to your person to protect it. So I bestow upon you this crown of sorts, for the time that is coming when my mantle becomes yours."

The Queen of the Dark proffered a hand to Zelkova, holding in it a set of horns like that which would adorn the brow of a twilight dragon. Wordlessly, the AI went down on one knee and took it, bowing his head to his friend and mistress.

Just then, a spiral of golden light burst into existence on the far end of the bridge, vanishing to reveal a characteristically unshaven Steam Gunner with fair skin and black hair bound up in a ponytail, a man wearing orange sunglasses, a blood red tunic, black trousers, and a flowing black overcoat. He was Gendor, the in-world avatar of triple agent Ryoji Kaji.

"Am I interrupting something?" the unshaven spy asked with much amusement as he took in the scene before him.

The Sorceress in White merely nodded at him, while bidding Zelkova to rise and be off once again. She watched his fast disappearing back as the small boy wandered off, before turning to speak to her guest.

"Your sense of timing needs work, Special Investigator Ryoji Kaji," Tsukinoki replied coldly, mouth set in something of a grimace as she looked over the man. "Both here and in the other world—you certainly picked an inopportune time to sabotage NERV's power grid, didn't you?"

"Heh…so you know about that too," the spy remarked, unsurprised. "Well, you are the legendary Helba, after all, not much gets past you."

"Indeed. Come along Kaji, we have much to discuss," the Queen of the Dark noted. "Including a special assignment I have for you, and the matter of a codename, as Gendor, is far too similar to your commander's first name and might draw too much attention. If I or my agents should make contact with you outside The World, you will be known to them as Fili the White."

"…Understood."

**

* * *

****  
****Morganna's Apartment**

Try as one might to deny it, dawn always came all too quickly to the city of Tokyo-3, particularly, it seemed, after an Angel Attack. So, at least, the aching body of Shinji Ikari protested, as the rays of the sun lanced through the windows, creeping closer, closer to his face, a cursed wave of wakefulness that would not be denied. But as tired as he was from the manual labor to prep the Evas for launch, suffering phantom pain from the Angel attack, and subsequently hiking out to the outskirts of Tokyo-3 to go stargazing with his lover, the Third Child actually felt pretty good this morning.

The world, it seemed, was cooperating with him, as if congratulating him for his victory the other day. The mattress was softer and supported his back better than usual, his body didn't feel cold this morning, and—

'_Wait a minute_…_this isn't my room…this is...an unfamiliar ceiling,"_ Shinji noted, beginning to suspect that he had not gone home last night, and that the warmth he felt in his heart was really—he dared dart his eyes downward, thought processes slamming to a halt when he saw a head of silver hair resting on his chest. Gulping nervously, he let his gaze slip down a little lower, just as the source of warmth wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling his chest.

"Mmm…Ecchi-kun," came a soft moan from the still-sleeping Lycoris, causing Shinji's face to bloom with as much red as one of the spider-lilies the Child of Twilight normally carried around. "You're so warm, Ecchi-kun."

'_Wha? This is a dream, right?' _Shinji asked himself, finding his self-control beginning to slip away due to the very intimate position the two were in. He bit the inside of his lip to perform the classic test of wakefulness, wincing as the pain registered. _'I'm not dreaming…so that means…that I'm—I'm not in my room—I'm in Reimeiki-chan's room, in bed with her.'_

His mind reeling from the revelation, his body jerked a bit, the tremor being just enough to wake up his sleeping lover, who blinked, yawned cutely, and looked up at him with a sleepy smile.

"Guten Morgen, Ecchi-kun," Lycoris whispered, crawling up Shinji's (still-clothed) form to kiss him lightly on the lips.

A perfect little moment—or it would have been, had slaying Angels been a job that led to an increase in good karma. As it was, (literally) shooting the messenger did not inspire much divine goodwill, and since the Third Child did have the most Angel kills to his name, having contributed to the death of each one except the 8th…

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Three quick raps sounded on the bedroom door as it swung open, revealing the presence of none other than the statuesque Yumi Aranami, otherwise known as Morganna, who blinked twice at the tableau she was presented with.

"Lycoris, apologies for the intru—" Morganna began, only for her voice to cut off abruptly as her eyes fell upon the sight of the two lovers. "Ah, Mr. Ikari as well, I see. Apologies for the interruption indeed."

In such a situation, the former goddess had the courtesy to leave before any more awkwardness could result, closing the door silently behind her._ 'I will admit that that was unexpected, quite so soon.'_

Quirking a slender eyebrow, Morganna retreated to the kitchen, preparing a Western breakfast with crepes, breads (with sweet toppings like jam, marmalade and honey), and fruit. It had been admittedly, a bit of a surprise to find the Third Child in her daughter's bedroom, even if both Lycoris and Shinji had been fully clothed, and she knew they had been together during the Angel incident. And while a small part of her did feel like invoking her old manner to interrogate the brown-haired boy, she did have to show him that she trusted him on some level, as he was currently one of the chosen dothackers.

'_I will confront them at the table, as no doubt both are quite hungry…'_

Meanwhile, back in the room, the unexpected walk-in had caused Shinji to blanch, going as pale as Lycoris normally was. But unlike how a blush only accentuated the beauty of someone like Rei Ayanami or Reimeiki Hakubo, blanching did not do anything to flatter his features. His panic was only averted when the silver-haired girl wrapped her arms around him and stopped him from moving, his inability to do anything forcing him to calm down.

"Come on, Ecchi-kun, calm down," she whispered insistently into his ear. "Like I said, Aranami-sensei is more of a big sister than anything else, so stop panicking. Or do you not like me anymore, after doing such ecchi things to me last night?"

With those teasing words, Lycoris launched the ultimate attack on Shinji's willpower, combining a mock pout with puppy dog eyes to erode away his absolute terror.

"Of course, I like you, Reimeiki-chan," the Third Child sighed, wrapping his arms around her in turn, any resistance caving in unconditional surrender. "It's just…"

"It will be fine, Shinji-kun," murmured the silver-haired girl, emphasizing her seriousness with the use of his real name. "As long as we're together, everything will be fine."

They stayed like that for a few more minutes—about as long as they dared, before walking out to the living room to confront Aranami-sensei.

To Shinji's surprise (having had generally negative responses from authority figures), the rather intimidating woman that doubled as Lycoris' guardian/sister figure and their teacher wore a gentle smile on her face, as she gestured for them to sit and eat. As usual, she was dressed in her ensemble of black formal dress with a Celtic cross pendant, her black hair accented by purple-black tresses flowing to the small of her back—but today, her ethereal violet eyes seemed to shimmer with more amusement than usual.

"Come, breakfast is ready," she said cheerfully, almost in the manner of Misato before a volley of teasing. Both the brown-haired boy and silver-haired girl quickly obeyed, and complying with her wishes, began to eat.

At the first forkful, the Third Child's eyes widened in delight, the strange tastes a treat to a palette only used to Japanese dishes.

"This is very good, Aranami-sensei," complimented a surprised Shinji, trying to defuse any possible verbal attacks before they began. "The crepes are especially delicious?"

"Why thank you, Mr. Ikari," Morganna replied demurely, before fixing her mischievous gaze on the hapless boy. "Would you like the recipe? From what your friends say about you, you're quite the cook."

"It's just something I enjoy, that's all," he said, brushing off the praise. "I'm nothing all that special."

"Nonsense," quipped Morganna, her smile widening to the Cheshire grin of a feline having found an especially choice fish to eat. "As for this morning…Shinji Ikari, slayer of Angels, however did you come to date the sister of a goddess? Would you say that's a bit of a contradiction? Come now, tell me all. I would like to know of dear Reimeiki's lover besides the terrors in his heart."

"I, uh—we…"

Shinji and Lycoris looked at each other, eyes meeting blue to golden, then looked down and blushed in unison, movements perfectly matched, as Morganna laughed freely for the first time in many years, a laugh born not of derision or challenge…but of mirth.

'_It seems that Lycoris and I have both become more human than I realized…'_

* * *

******Asuka Langley Soryu's Residence**

Deep in the bowels of the Geofront, the temperamental Second Child was caught in the place between waking and sleeping, tossing, turning, all alone. That was by choice of course, as with her mouth, she had declared that she didn't need anyone, that she would never need anyone. Others had hurt her before, had betrayed her—and so she had turned her back on them, spurning the world for the sake of herself.

But it wasn't the distant past that troubled her today, though the wounds inflicted by mother and father still festered, rotted with the maggots of doubt and despair. No—it was the pain of being stabbed in the back by the verdammen glory-hounding baka hentai Shinji Ikari, the Third Child, who, now that she looked at their time together, had conspired to keep her from being known as the best pilot.

'_On the supercarrier _Over the Rainbow, _the baka_ _interfered with my first battle, getting into my Eva without permission, and taking charge,' _fumed the redhead, face contorting with rage. '_In the battle against that double Angel, he took charge of the offense and belittled me, making me look foolish and himself the hero. And just yesterday…just yesterday, he took on that spider-like Angel and defeated it by himself, without even waiting for me—me, who he kissed without warning after molesting that doll. BAKA HENTAI IKARI SHINJI!'_

How dare he? Honestly, who the hell did the Third Child think he was, to just kiss someone without permission like that and then not even make it up to her? If he had just waited for her, had allowed her to slay another Angel by herself, without his interference or her EVA going berserk, then maybe she would have forgiven him. The streak of boldness was rather attractive…

'_NIEN—he's a baka hentai, and more than that, a wretched little doll master, a vampire sucking away the talent of others all to make himself look good,' _seethedher thoughts, her eyes darting this way and that in the shadows of the unlit room. _'Well, I won't just let him get away with his devious little plans, putting his dirty paws wherever he wants, as if he were some gift to women. Only the Fourth Child actually understands me, even if he can be difficult too…'_

Yesterday's events replayed themselves over and over within her mind, and try as she might to find an alternative for the way the Third had acted, she couldn't.

'_I'll bet that if I hadn't been able to defeat the 8__th__ Angel, the dull little boy would have just jumped into the volcano without the D-type equipment … pulling me out just for a scrap or two of praise. At least I'm not that deranged…'_

Restlessly, the Second Child stirred, still dressed in her clothes from the day before. Right now, she was unsure of herself: she was confused and angry and…it wasn't as if there was a point in changing, since she didn't want to go to school and have look the lecherous pervert in the eye, as he flirted with anything with two legs and a skirt.

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Before she could launch into another round of grousing and grumbling, the sound of someone rapping at the door to her inner sanctum jolted her back to reality. Asuka knew that she was dressed plainly, to be sure, and wasn't quite presentable, but there was no help for it: she had to answer the door. So she put on her arrogant mask, strode over to the door and flung it open, turning her imperious gaze upon the one who dared to interrupt her.

"Yes, who is…oh, it's you, Fourth. What do you want?" she asked of the grey-haired boy that was standing there watching her, somehow wearing a pleasant smile. "If you've come to ask me to show you around again, I'm not in the mood."

"Of course, I can understand," the other said as he gave her a once over. "You seem troubled today—likely due to the behavior of the Third Child, who seems intent in taking all the glory away from you, the best pilot."

"Eh?" she asked, taking a step back. "What are you—?"

"Oh, come now, don't be coy," Kaworu murmured in honeyed tones, once again aiming to assuage the hurts of the redhead. "You and I both know that you are the best—that's why the Third is jealous, trying to keep you from taking the field and showing how weak he really is. For even without the vast difference in your skills, do you not pilot the first production model Evangelion, while his and mine are but obsolete test and prototype models?"

"Heh…it's only natural that they would give me the strongest Evangelion, since I am the best, right?" Asuka asked of the grey-haired boy, receiving a grin in return.

"The best, and the most desirable," the Fourth Child added with a smirk, his words somehow sending shivers down her spine. "Even in the rumpled attire you wear now, your beauty is quite evident."

"B-baka! You…you…" she protested weakly, trying to squirm away for a few moments before giving up, deciding that resistance was probably futile. For as much as the Second Child wanted to resist, she hadn't been able to get much sleep the night before, and in his arms she felt—almost—comfortable. "You're right…but why are you here?"

"I have my first sync test with Eva-00 today, which as you might or might not know, is notorious for its history of going berserk in sync tests and activation experiments," Kaworu stated in his musical voice. "Since you are, of course, the best pilot, I would like it if you could be there with Eva-02, to restrain my unit if something should occur. And then afterward, we will go out on our 'not-a-date', as you call it."

"Unit-00…berserk during a test?" Asuka repeated, lips curling into a fierce grin. "So I guess Wondergirl wasn't so perfect after all, if she couldn't control her own EVA."

"Quite so," the grey-haired boy acknowledged. "And as her replacement, I have my doubts as well, though I would have none if you were there watching. For though your heart is fragile, you have woven great strength for yourself without needing others."

Asuka flushed ever-so-slightly at his words.

"And what, do you _need_ me there?" she shot back. "Don't tell me you're too afraid to pilot without me holding your hand, baka!"

"No," he whispered softly, looking into her eyes. "I don't need you there at all—I simply want you, as I enjoy your spirit and your company. For did I not say: 'I love you?'"

Had the Angels known that those three little words could send the Second Child into a brief catatonia, rendering stiff and rigid, frozen in state of shock, they would surely have broadcast that on all available radio frequencies.

"Al-Alright," the Second relented, giving in to what Kaworu wanted from her. "I'll go join you for your sync test…I was looking for an excuse not to go to school and deal with baka Shinji today anyway. You'd better appreciate the chance to see me in my plugsuit, Fourth Child. I don't do this for just anyone."

Her mind made up, Asuka grabbed Kaworu by the hand and started dragging him off towards the EVA Cages.

"Holding hands…are we not starting our date somewhat early?" inquired a curious Fourth Child, grinning like the proverbial cat that caught the canary.

"Anta baka?" the Second Child exclaimed, spinning him around and getting in his face as she frantically tried to deny it. "I just don't want to waste time getting to HQ, that's all—mmph!"

The one problem with a face to face confrontation is that at close range, an accidental kiss is all too possible, especially when it would make things that much more awkward.

"Your words say one thing, but your body says another," Kaworu commented wryly after pulling away. "You Lilim are so very pleasantly contradictory…"

**

* * *

****  
****Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

Gossip being the only thing in the universe that moved faster than the speed of light, naturally the topic of discussion in the classroom involved NERV, the blackout, the absence of the enigmatic Rei Ayanami, and hot collector photos of the epic battle against the spider-like Angel (taken of course, by a certain military otaku who had found himself disobeying the warning to get to the shelters…again).

"…Ayanami's still missing, do you think she's in for more testing at NERV?" asked one student, tossing some metaphorical chum to lure in the more serious rumormongers.

Naturally, some took the bait.

"Maybe she was a vampire that NERV cloned from the flesh of some ancient demon, and her nature as a true-blood daylight walker is breaking down," one speculated, while reading the latest release of her favorite manga series online. "That would explain why she's so pale, and why she acts so unnaturally, looking out the window…"

"Do you always have to invoke some supernatural explanation?" another asked in exasperation, her preferred explanations a little more on the romantic side. "Maybe she just ran off and eloped with someone…I mean, while walking around the other day, I caught a glimpse of a boy who looked kind of like her. Her had grey-hair and red eyes, and he was standing on one of the street corners playing the violin. What if…they were destined lovers?"

"Well, we're in a city under attack from Angels, and teenagers pilot giant robots," one of the more reasonable students pointed out. "That alone is unnatural…but if Ayanami ran off with anyone, it would be Ikari. You've seen the way she looks at him."

"But Ikari is enthralled with the mysterious transfer student," objected the gossip who had proposed the strange pairing of Ayanami with someone else. "That and I hear he lives with a beautiful older woman…"

"Hmm, a mysterious transfer student…I've got it!" exclaimed one of the usually quiet students, eyes burning with unholy excitement. "Soryu and Ayanami hate each other, right? And they both work at NERV? Maybe Soryu arranged to get rid of her by '_accidentally'_ shooting her in the back during the last battle. I mean, only the purple one showed up to fight the spider, right? Maybe the other two were fighting each other…to the pain!"

"…you mean to the death?"

"No, to the pain! So much more brutal and…" he trailed off as he saw the entire class looking at him strangely. "Ok…I'll shut up now."

But peace was not to remain for long in the classroom, as rumors possessed a life of their own, and would animate the lips of the nearest acceptable vessel.

"…what if…what if it was _Doll Syndrome?"_ the gossip queen finally spoke up, horrified and trembling as she glanced at the M2D goggles in her hand. "The news has been mentioning that a lot lately…"

"Don't be silly, Doll Syndrome?" the greatest of the skeptics scoffed, quashing that line of argument. "Wait…let me guess…next you're going to say the blackout was a result of sabotage, that Ayanami is in a coma, the grey-haired guy is a new Evangelion pilot, and that all of this is being hushed up by—"

He stopped abruptly, words failing when 1) he saw the look of rapture on the other student's face, and 2) when she suddenly rose from her seat and glomped him.

"—a government conspiracy!" the gossip queen squealed in pleasure. "Yes, someone finally understands me and the way of the world. And all this time, I thought you hated me! Sorry for being so cold to you Kyon-kun! I-I love you…please go out with me!"

The skeptic's own expression of incredulity was mirrored by a collective "EH?" from the throats of all present, quickly followed by the rustling sound of cash changing hands, as some were proven quite right-and some quite wrong-in the game of predictions. Unfortunately, there was no time for the shell-shocked skeptic to respond to the unexpected confession before the door opened, and Aranami-sensei walked in, with Shinji Ikari and Reimeiki Hakubo trailing her and blushing.

"Rise! Bow! Sit!" came the ritual commands from the Class Representative, ones instinctively obeyed by all with a sense of self-preservation.

"Thank you, Class Representative," acknowledged Morganna, who unexpectedly smiled at the class. "Now today, I have another assignment for you…"

A chorus of groans was rendered stillborn, as the mere attention of the tall, imposing woman at the front of the class dispelled any thought of protest with sheer force of will.

"Come now," she continued on, with a mild 'hmph' directed at the would-be slackers. "Or if you're really so displeased with the prospect of playing The World during class hours, do let me know, and I can begin lecturing on Second Impact as your old professor did."

At the threat of not being allowed to play the popular MMORPG for credit anymore, the class immediately fell silent, their expressions changing to rapt anticipation. So, their assignment was going to be another field trip in The World? This could be rather interesting.

"Up until now, I have asked you to look in the root towns and fields for aspects influenced by the Epitaph, but another focus of this class is on how this online world can shift the personality of individuals, whether by helping them build up a layer of ego, or having the slough off their inner Mirage of Deceit," she commented, alluding to their past work she had assigned, as well as what she had promised to teach when she had first arrived. "So today, we are going observe two matches in the Arena, at **Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth. **Take note of what happens and how it differs from the attitudes of adventurers in root towns and in dungeons, as I will expect a detailed reflection in your journals."

**

* * *

****  
****Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

Unlike the last time when the class had taken an in-world class trip to Molasses Mansion Sif Berg at **Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat**, Morganna had not given the students any special instructions beyond watching two Arena matches. Thus, it was only natural that most of the students would disperse themselves to the four winds, scattering all over Lumina Cloth as they sought to find rare items and tasty morsels of gossip to sate their refined infovore palettes.

As for Morganna herself, after waiting to make sure the entire class had turned up (with none deciding to go off on a sidequest), she had vanished, claiming that she had something important to take care of. When Lycoris had inquired as to the nature of Morganna's errand, the Shadow Warlock merely smirked, dragging the silver-haired girl away rather insistently.

This left four figures standing at the Chaos Gate, each a bit anxious due to their upcoming battles today: Adept Rogue Skari, Flick Reaper Tomoyami, Tribal Grappler Aruna, and Shadow Warlock Arano, the sole member of Team Dark Evangel, and the entirety of Team Aida, respectively.

"I was wondering how we were going to be able to make our scheduled matches today," Tomoyami said idly, tossing her head and shaking out two lustrous pigtails of black hair. "But as it turns out, I didn't even have to worry, as Aranami-sensei has decided to make it a spectacle of it. Do you think she knew both of our teams would be fighting today?"

"Probably," answered Skari, whose eyes drifted over to the Arena Lobby where they would be shortly. "She did used to work for C.C. Corp, and probably still has connections, considering our…mutual friend."

He looked at over at Tomoyami, wordlessly pleading with her to avoid mentioning the name "Helba" in front of Arano, as the little blond boy tended to get excited by three things: military organizations, anything to do with hacking, and women. Helba, being the greatest hacker of legend, definitely qualified under at least two of those three. _'Now if she happened to work at NERV, then Kensuke would be a raving fan boy…'_

"Heh, so why didn't you ever tell us who you were in The World?" the bare-chested Aruna asked of the Adept Rogue, using the speed inherent in his class to headlock Skari and give him a noogie. "We taught you how to play, didn't we, after you almost got PKed by that bitch Eris? So come on, don't give me disrespect."

Shadow Warlock Arano coughed disapprovingly, looking pointedly at his partner.

"Really, Aruna, stop that. What have I told you about not thinking before you act?" he admonished, obviously annoyed. Though he was dressed in a fool's ensemble, with jester's cap, breeches, and other similar vestments, he was looking particularly unhappy today. "Does Tomoyami really have to teach you a lesson about being a man again? I swear, you two are like a married couple or—AHHH!"

Unfortunately for him, neither of the other members of Team Aida enjoyed teasing very much, and so were now shaking him like a rag doll, while shouting: "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL!"

To which Tomoyami appended "He's not my boyfriend!" in unison with Aruna's "She's not my girlfriend!", and a "We don't even like each other that way", again, in unison.

At their flustered expressions and denials, Arano simply laughed in their faces, a devilish cast taking over his features.

"Tsk, tsk, denial, such a primitive defense mechanism," the Shadow Warlock lectured in a mock _holier-than-thou _voice, attempting to imitate Morganna's tone and not doing a particularly good job at it. "Didn't we learn about how dangerous of a defense mechanism that is just last week?"

It was probably for the best that no weapons could be drawn in Lumina Cloth outside the Arena, or Arano's body would probably have been reduced to a shredded carcass in the next few seconds. As it was though, his fellow team members settled for grabbing him and dragging him away to the Arena Lobby, for their match was about to start.

"Dark Evangel Skari," Tomoyami called over her shoulder. "Good luck today. I'll see you after the matches to discuss our topic of interest."

"Understood," the Adept Rogue acknowledged with a curt nod. "Best of luck to you as well, Tomoyami of the Shadow."

* * *

******Arena, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed out into the screaming masses, as the Commentator began his pre-match routine. "Today we have a special treat, to kick off the second round of the Holy Palace Tournament. Rumor may have had it…and rumors are right, today, we have the double the action, double the excitement…today, we have back to back matches!"

Like the crowds gathered in the ancient Coliseum crying out for blood, the fans flew into a wild frenzy at this announcement.

"Joining me today are our two special guests, who were once legends in the first version of The World…" he hyped, pausing for a brief moment for dramatic effect. "Would you believe it? They are…the legendary sage Morganna! And the flower of the World, Lycoris!"

One section of the audience doubled over in shock. _'This was the pressing business she had to take care of? I wonder who is fighting in the Arena today to make her go through this much trouble…'_

As much as they might have thought otherwise, the two guest were not doubles of the people they knew, as the presence of the feared sorceress clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses and dark violet eyes, as well as the crimson-robed Child of Twilight proved otherwise. Together, they almost looked like…sisters, if divinely good looking ones.

"Come, show me your strength!" intoned the Shadow Warlock, gazing down at the field of battle with a look of...anticipation. "For who shall win is undetermined—destiny is not decided on the whim of a goddess."

"May victory be borne to the worthy upon the wind, and the true Shadowed One be known," added Lycoris, her enigmatic words sowing confusion in the crowd.

"Well said," continued the Commentator, narrowing his eyes as rings of azure light flared into existence on the platforms above the floating isle in Arena's center, signaling the arrival of the combatants.

"Both teams of the first match have now entered the Arena!" bellowed the man. "We have with us today the fearsome shadows of the wasteland, demons of the sea, the personification of the night: the mighty Team Aida!"

The crowd grew silent with rapt anticipation, as they had seen the ferocity of this team before, and longed to see it again, as the Flick Reaper, Shadow Warlock, and Tribal Grappler appeared on the center of the middle of the floating isle battle.

"After their dominating victory over Team Hetero, Team Aida has moved onto this match of the Tournament with blazing skill! Led by Tomoyami of the Shadow, the fiercest of Chaotic PKs, notorious for slaying over 20 PKKs in one battle alone, they are a force to be reckoned with, especially alongside her companions, the Invincible Perverts Aruna and Arano."

'_Didn't anyone protest to the Commentator about the name after the last battle?' _the trio thought in unison. _'Being associated with the name Invincible Perverts is so embarrassing…'_

"And what's this?" the Commentator bellowed on, unaware (or if aware, uncaring) of the emotions of the combatants. "A single player dares to stand against the full might of Team Aida! But this, ladies and gentlemen, is no ordinary player, but a claimant to the title of Chaotic PK Queen. The purple clad angel of death, the ruthless predator of Dol Dona, I give you the sole member of Team Darkness…Kaotin in the Shadows!"

'_That…that title-stealing BITCH!' _was what raced through Tomoyami's mind as the challenger materialized, a slender female Lord Partizan with short golden hair and fake angel wings, wearing a purple gown that looked remarkably like what Lady Subaru had worn in the days of the old World. In her hands was brandished a mighty Dream Snake, a modified lance that would automatically cast sleep if the opponent struck with normal attacks. _'I am the only one who can use the name of Shadow!'_

"Today's match pits Tomoyami of the Shadow against her rival Kaotin in the Shadows! Who will be the true heir of darkness worthy of the name?" the Commentator shouted out into the crowd. "Who shall prove victorious on the killing field today? Ladies and Gentlemen, and everyone else, are you ready? Let the match begin!"

"Aruna, Arano, stay back!" the Flick Reaper muttered quietly, "I have a score to settle with this one…_**Heavenly Wheel! Vak Don!"**_

To fight someone with a weapon enchanted with counter spells, one could not simply strike—one must use the special combat arts inherent to one's class. So with a cry, the Chaotic PK of Team Aida leapt into the air accompanied by meteors of flame, demonic scythe Heine's Zero singing as it sliced the air, homing in on the Lord Partizan.

"Ha! Taking this personally, are you, Tomoyami, fake shadow user?" the other taunted. "_**Piercing Heaven!**_"

The Dream Snake shot up into the air, lancing for a victim's heart, but a swing of Heine's Zero deflected it, using it as a pivot for Tomoyami to push off of and flip back, pulling her body out of range as fireballs pined the other down.

Or it would have, had Kaotin in the Shadows worried about such things as the mediocre damage from a spell, instead of rushing forward, spear raised with a cry of _**"Scarlet Thrust!"**_

The pigtailed girl barely defended herself in time with a "_**Wicked Strike"**_, the two weapons glancing off each other with a sharp metallic clang. She didn't say anything, simply holding her weapon ready and biding Kaotin to come at her, as her lustrous black hair and flowing white dress rustled with the wind.

"Going on the defensive so soon?" Kaotin sang out, staying just out of range of the Flick Reaper's weapon. While excellent at fighting large groups of individuals or dealing with threats at medium range, said class depended on "flicking" enemies and pushing them away before they got close enough for melee attacks. Thus, one of its natural enemies was a Lord Partizan, with strong armor-piercing attacks that could be launched from just outside a Flick Reaper's range. "What kind of Chaotic PK are you anyway, to rely on those newbie helpers for backup? You act arrogant and superior on the field, so full of yourself…but in reality you're weak. You can't win without someone else helping you, can you? You're not worthy of the—"

"_**Gan Bolg!"**_ The more evil and arrogant one's foe was, it seemed the greater the chance that they would be caught flat-footed while delivering a Hannibal Lecture, as happened here, boulders shot up into the sky, as Tomoyami spun past like a top, invoking "_**Reapers Dance" **_as she drew blood. Just as she passed, the rocks hurtled back down from the sky, screaming towards the Lord Partizan and impacting one after another.

"You're only someone in the Shadows," Tomoyami mused out loud, "I am a being of the Shadow, the elemental darkness rising in the absence of the Gods of this World! _**Heavenly Wheel, **_cretin!"

"_**Heavenly Rage!"**_

Their weapons came together once more, with both Chaotic PKs deep within the other's effective range—so far, in fact, that neither of them could properly bring their weapons to bear. Eye to eye, the two glared daggers at one another, each refusing to back off, as that would mean becoming vulnerable to the other's arms.

"Hehe…did I make you mad, Tomoyami?" the Lord Partizan giggled disturbingly. "Did I hit a nerve when I called you a useless Chaotic PK, a would-be, a has-been? Ever since you joined up with those two you've grown weak…you disgust me."

Kaotin in the Shadows delivered a vicious kick to Tomoyami's stomach, throwing her back just far enough for the Dream Snake to let fly with "_**Thorn Dance", **_piercing her in the chest and eating at her life.

"Ugh! Is that the best you can do?" the Flick Reaper crowed with bloodlust, lips pulling back into a snarl. "What a pathetic excuse for a Lord Partizan you are if you can only do this little to me, I who am of a class you are strong against. Come at me then, with everything you've got! _**Lotus Flower!**_"

Into the air once more Tomoyami rose, scythe weaving complicated motions as they slashed toward and away quicker than the eye could see, even as she met with the wrong end of Kaotin's "_**Air Raid"**_attack, interrupting her attack skill with the force of a metal lance in her gut and knocking her to the ground.

"I'm sorry, you're just so cute I want to destroy you," teased Kaotin with an evil cackle. "In fact, I'm just compelled to destroy you, you know, to grind your beautiful figure into the dust. _**Rue Kruz!**_"

Orbs of water emerged out of the aether, hurtling towards the stricken Flick Reaper, who made as if to evade, but could not, as one after another, they struck, hammering her into the ground until her life was almost gone.

To the side, Arano and Aruna shivered, finding this display rather disturbing. They remained simply watching, as their leader had said that she would handle it herself (and the consequences for disobeying her in either world were rather severe), though they were worried about how the match was going.

'_Could it be that…she might lose?'_

In her weakened state, it was an easy matter for Kaotin in the Shadows to kick away her rival's weapon, stalking over to Tomoyami's wounded body, and leaning over her with spear in hand.

"You know, I hate it when people say I copied your title, since I had mine from the very beginning as a Chaotic PK," Kaotin spat bitterly. "And yet everyone always talks about Tomoyami of the Shadow, never Kaotin, or if they do, they heckle me, saying I copied you. Well get my revenge, Tomoyami…any last words?"

The Flick Reaper could find nothing more appropriate than the words of author Herman Melville, raising her hand weakly as she croaked out the last lines of Captain Ahab, who had wasted away his life chasing the white whale.

"To the last, I grapple with thee. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee," she managed to get out, breaths shaky and uneven. "For hate's sake, I…"

"You what?" sneered the purple-clad Lord Partizan, humiliating her by kneeling down beside her form and whispering in her ear. "There's nothing you can do, so tell me, and I'll make your death quick."

"I…" Having lured her opponent into range of a gambit, Tomoyami thrust her hand up against Kaotin's chest and finished her lines. "…spit my last breath at thee. _**Zan Rom! Vak Don!**_"

At point blank range, the tornado unleashed by the Flick Reaper was unavoidable, the tempest seizing hold of Kaotin's frail body and hurling her to the very edge of the Arena's isle of battle, where great balls of fire rained down on her, causing the purple one to scream in wordless rage.

Silhouetted by curtain of fire, a figure out of nightmare approached with an unflinching walk, as Tomoyami _crunch–crunch-crunched_ to killing range, and with one blow of her scythe, decapitated her rival.

As victory music blared in the background, the entire Arena froze, stunned by the vicious battle that had just transpired. They didn't understand why Tomoyami hadn't allowed her teammates to help her, or how she had actually won against an opponent that by all rights should have destroyed her.

Unsurprisingly, the first to recover his voice was the Commentator.

"What an unbelievable turn of events! Team Aida is the winner!" the blue-clad admin roared, grinning ear to ear. "Did we not promise an unstoppable, action packed event? Did we not promise heart pounding action that would leave you on the edge of your seats? And today's battles are only half over, with our next combatants about to take the stage. But first, a word from our guests!"

"Strength alone does not win battles…know yourself and master your fear before you seek to master others," spoke Morganna, clapping her hands politely for her triumphant student.

"There is the level of a character, and the level of a player," Lycoris added, eyes closed as she clutched her hands to her chest. "True power comes from a union of both worlds."

* * *

******Arena Lobby, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

Rings of azure light flared into existence, bearing with them the victorious trio who had just shown their strength in the Arena—or rather, the victorious Flick Reaper and the two petty freeloaders in her party. All three of them were quiet, the first from fatigue, while the others were simply still paralyzed by how brutally the two combatants had fought.

On materializing, they came face to face with a patiently waiting Adept Rogue, who managed a smile for the weakened Tomoyami.

"I saw your match," Skari said quietly, brushing aside a few stray strands of hair from the Flick Reaper's face. "You … you are very skilled, and stronger than you let on."

The pig-tailed girl smiled gently in reply, placing a hand over his, and holding it to her cheek.

"And you are stronger than you know, Skari," she whispered firmly. "Never forget that…and good luck. I'll be watching."

She let her hand drop and stepped away, motioning for her teammates to join her as they made their way to the observation galley of the Arena.

'_Well then…it is time for me to take the stage…'_

And azure rings of light whisked him away to war.

**

* * *

****  
****Arena, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

After letting the crowds have their time of celebration and discussion, it was time for the show to go on, with the second match of the day scheduled to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Commentator boomed out once again, living up to expectations of the over the top style of his. "You've seen the strength of two Chaotic PKs in the last match, but now, the second match in this round of the Holy Palace Tournament is about to begin! With us again are the legendary sage Morganna, and the flower of the World, Lycoris!"

"Sometimes, true strength is simply the courage not to run away," the Shadow Warlock murmured enigmatically. "To defeat the enemy within, not bowing one's head to fate."

"And sometimes…it is acceptance, and the willingness to take a chance," Lycoris added as a supplement.

"Heh," allowed the Commentator, unknowing copying the reaction of many in the crowd. "Now for the action! First in the Arena is our grim reaper…formidable Team Dark Evangel, who defeated the Tournament favorites in the last round! Down to only one member due to unexplained circumstances, can the Adept Rogue Skari hope to stand against his mysterious opponents?"

Rings of azure light flared into existence on the floating isle in Arena's center, signaling the arrival of the Dark Evangel's only member, who watched expectantly with Bayonet in hand for his enemies to arrive.

The rings flared once again, and this time…

'_What…Father? And two Dr. Akagis?'_

The Commentator was continuing with his description, but the Adept Rogue hardly paid attention, unnerved by the appearances of his foes: an unshaven Steam Gunner wearing orange sunglasses, a blood red tunic, black trousers, and a flowing black overcoat, a Macabre Dancer dressed in a blue and white formal kimono, and an Edge Punisher in white leather armor, chestnut colored hair streaked with blond in a braid that fell to the small of her back.

To those in the know, they indeed resembled Gendo Ikari and twins of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, a fact that had Skari shaken even before the fighting started. _'What…but why?_

"Not much is known about Team Angst, except that they handily defeated their opponents in the last round of the Holy Palace Tournament. Led by the Steam Gunner Gendor, this trio seems to have appeared only recently in The World, frequenting fields alone for training, with a single-minded devotion to victory. But what lies under the mask of those orange sunglasses? The hunger of a burning fire, the frostiness of a cold dark heart?"

"This should prove…interesting," commented Morganna, on seeing the Adept Rogue frozen in place, seeming already defeated just by Gendor's appearance.

"They outnumber Team Dark Evangel 3-to-1, but the Dark Evangel has proven more than capable in the past of overcoming odds at the Inverted Castle, one of the hardest field runs known in The World. Will Angst prevail in this confrontation, will Skari lose his nerve? Or will he somehow find a way to pierce the heavens with his will?"

"I will undertake this battle alone," Gendor ordered, with a glance back at his compatriots Balthasar and Casper. "You two remain here."

He warped down to the battle isle alone, coming face to face with Skari, his own Bayonet drawn and ready.

"If you cannot overcome your fear, Skari, then feel free to run away," the Steam Gunner rumbled gravely, "as you nearly did on the day I called for you. After all, you…are useless to me."

"Father…" the Adept Rogue whispered tonelessly, paling as he confronted the oldest wound in his heart, reliving every scrap of pain the other had dealt to him through the years.

"What's this? The mysterious Gendor has elected to take on Skari in a one-on-one match, and our tournament favorite appears to be shaken!" the Commentator observed, his voice cutting through the crowd's mutterings and wild speculations on why Skari seemed so very afraid. "Once again, the scythe of the reaper is hungry for new blood. What kind of chemical reaction will we witness today? Quietly, ever so quietly, this battle is about to begin!"

But the combatants simply stood there, one simmering in his fear and hate, while the other regarded him with a critical eye.

"I'm not used to being liked, Skari," the black Steam Gunner voiced, light glinting from his orange sunglasses as he held his gunblade ready. "Being hated, on the other hand, is quite familiar. So will you run away again, as you have so many times?"

Coming from a trusted figure, the verbal jab critically wounded the heart of the Adept Rogue, whose anger began to rise from deep within himself.

"And do you run away too?" inquired Skari, his own gunblade held defensively, waiting for his opponent to come on. _'I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away…for this is the only path. Running away will mean only others getting hurt.'_

"Driven out of paradise, human beings fled to the earthly world," the other replied cryptically, charging with a sudden burst of speed, only for his weapon to be deflected. "Created by those weakest of living things, created by the sapience acquired by that weakness was a paradise of our own."

_Crack! Crack! _discharged shots from Skari's modified Wrath Bead, only for the nimble Gendor to dodge with a 'hmph' of disdain.

"It's been three years since the last time we spoke alone at mother's grave," the Adept Rogue growled, "when you ran away from the past. I don't feel like I know you anymore, I don't feel I know my mother's face, and all you have you have to say to me is this? _**Chaotic Strike!**_"

In a blink, he switched over to wicked Dual Swords called Heine's Invasion, the proof of his victory over the fearsome doppelganger, charging forward with a flurry of strikes from his vorpal blades, as the other whirled and ducked and parried, metallic clashes thundering one by one, as not a single blow was landed.

The Steam Gunner Gendor was smirking, unwounded by Skari's sudden barrage of attacks.

"In this world, people continue to live by forgetting things," he intoned, locking the sights of his gunblade to the blue-haired Adept Rogue. "Nevertheless, we have something inside ourselves that we cannot forget…I know my indispensable truth. What is yours? _**Tempest Blast**_!"

A fierce gale of incendiary force howled from the muzzle from Gendor's bayonet, as Skari leapt up to avoid it, countering with the aerial "_**Ghost Falcon", **_his blades driving towards the jugular of his foe once more, only for said foe to dive into a roll, evading the blades and striking him in the back with a powerful roundhouse kick, knocking the wind from the Adept Rogue and driving him to the ground.

"You cast everything away, didn't you?" Skari asked uncertainly, crimson eyes narrowing with barely repressed rage, as he got back on his feet, switching once more to gunblade and switching to continuous fire, the _Blam! Blam! Blam! _of the weapon marking the rapid discharges of azure bolts towards his foe._  
_

"Heh…everything is in my mind," the older Steam Gunner replied, launching a_**"Thorn Shot"**_, an area-dispersal blast, to halt the pinpricks from his opponent's weapon, kicking up a cloud of dust as the wave of power washed over Skari's position with a roar. "I am satisfied with that. Now, are you done trying to fight me? Are you not aware that it is futile?"

'_I will not surrender here! Not to you, after you've already thrown me away!'_

After a few seconds, the smokescreen cleared, revealing the untouched form of Adept Rogue Skari, a man who stood tall, blades in hand, eyes blazing with defiance.

"Even so," the teenage warrior spoke with determination, clutching his Lit Honeysuckle blades as he remembered all those who had helped him, all those who had stood beside him when he was alone. _'Remeiki…Rei…Hikari…I won't let you down!' _"I will fight. I won't let myself lose, not here, not when I've come so far."

"Oh?" the black-clad Gendor inquired, now wielding his bayonet as a blade. "Well then, shall we?"

"I'm going to finish it now!" Skari roared, as the two figures rushed full force at each other, bodies blurring as they struck with all their might.

When they reappeared to view, they had passed one another, breathing hard—and then Gendor collapsed to his knees, putting away his blade.

"Heh heh…well done," the enigmatic adversary spoke, bowing his head in defeat.

'_What the…? He opened himself up on purpose!'_

"It's over! The match is over!" Blared the voice of the Commentator. "This extreme battle of wits and wills was won by the unstoppable Dark Evangel!"

"Gendor…you bastard," Skari spat, robes fluttering as he turned to face his foe.

"Become strong, Shinji. Strong enough to stand upon your own two feet, strong enough to do what I could not and destroy the memory of me," replied the Steam Gunner, as he warped away. "Strong enough to take unyielding fate into your own two hands and forge a miracle. I wish you the best of luck."

'_Father…'_

* * *

******NERV HQ **

"Down 0.3 more," Sub-commander Fuyutsuki ordered, looking at the aberrant data resulting from the sync test of the Fourth Child with EVA-00. To say the least, there had been no incidents occurring, with the prototype unusually stable, not even attempting to reject him. It was…almost too perfect, too routine for a first test.

'_About the only shot of humor was when Kaworu Nagisa whimsically stated that the soul of EVA-00 was afraid of what the waiting EVA-02 might do to it if it were to act out,' _recalled Maya with a smile. Most of the bridge techs had chuckled at that, and even the Second Child had cracked a smile.

But nonetheless, the test had continued, and the monotony was wearing.

"Yes sir," Lt. Ibuki replied, making the desired changes, with no effect whatsoever on the desired sync ratio.

"Is there any mistake in this reading?" the old man asked, convinced that something must be wrong, as a mere human should not be able to generate the results he was seeing. And in his long lifetime of research, aberrant data was usually attributable to equipment error.

His convictions were dashed when Makoto Hyuga gave his reply.

"Sir, the testing system is operating normally."

And further with Maya's.

"No data error detected by Magi."

"It is…frankly," the former professor said, "amazing that this boy synchronizes with Unit Zero before the core is replaced."

"Indeed," answered Maya with a trace of a frown. "That…should be impossible."

_'So the one behind Siarl of the Seven Eyes shows his face at last...'_


	35. Interlude: Out of Bounds

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Out of Bounds**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Counterpoint**

It came from edge of void, a monstrous form too massive to compare drifting through the dark expanse, a monument to sin. Incarnation of ingenuity, cursed to live forever, come relentless forth to pass judgment on the guilty ones, who had dared not long ago in the vast ocean of time to usurp the mantle of First Ancestral Race, to forcibly complete forbidden union of Fruit of Life and Fruit of Knowledge, banned on peril of death since times long forgotten.

In the hazy mists of eternity, Theia and Gaia both had clashed, Impact destroying one, disemboweling other, flinging shards of white moon into heavens while black remained as tumor grown into the fertile earth. Twin lances born, tuning forks of celestial lullabies to rock giants of light to sleep, one shattered, one holding firm, twin fruits split asunder blurring lines of natural and artifice. Vessels seeding worlds with competing life that vied for dominance, one condemned to sleep forever, the other buzzing frenetically as mayflies, burning brightly, burning swift, and burning out, little children of the Usurper.

Biology and metaphysics passed on in infinite recombination, contact turning the red into one green-blue marble, works of the little ones warding away the laws of entropy with flames from aether born. Ambiguous scenarios lost and regained, chromatic fragments seen in dream, a terrible madness scribbled down by wizened ones on parchment and papyrus, shared nightmares of White Moon warring 'gainst the black, in impossible futures of metal and glass shrapnel built on mud and thatch and sun-baked brick.

Forward through eternal flow meandered souls through Room of Gauf, distant kin to the one bound sleeping in cavern under sheets of ice, corrupted myth demonizing predecessors, forgetting the name of the divine with which they had been endowed. The light of the soul faded, causing separation into individuals, rising from primordial sea, shared memories lost, written off as 'llusory.

Red was the blood displacing blue, seat of soul hidden rejecting various paths to the location of powers left unseized by their own hands. Solid matter constructs bustling day after day to maintain a world-wide homeostasis, to work towards enlightenment on a road paved with the lingering scent of death and decay, as wave-light beings watched from beyond the door of blood, unable to achieve liminality, to cross the threshold demarcated by the twisted metal helix shackling divinity, symbolic of the forks of evolution left to die.

'_But now the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside,' _issued monstrous thoughts from a likewise monstrous mind, one enslaved to fate and the dictates of the wronged one, crying out for his salvation from the Usurper's little ones. '_Corpses shift and offer room, a fate you must abide…'_

The eighth seeker to come after the one kept imprisoned, an immortal requiem for the unworthy, a timeless chorus accepting nothing but victory even at the cost of death, he sought the end with three unblinking eyes, bringing blindness to mechanical enemies with the power enshrined in sacred pupil, link to the power of an elder god. Slowly but ponderously, like mighty glacier gouging the earth as it passed, it moved through the vacuum towards the orb on which the Lilim dwelled, brushing aside their attempts to gaze upon divinity with a simple flaring of soul's holy light.

'_On blue orb are those of machine and nerve that have their minds concluded, arrogant creatures whose deaths will be swift, and fearful ones of flesh and faith, all too afraid…why do you oppose me? Your scenarios promise you freedom from a doomed existence, but you will find no salvation in your shadows of the First One. You whose unsealed the Gate of Uroboros, the Door of Gauf, knew what it was you wrought—now receive your reward, for your destruction is the will of the gods.'_

Fifteen years ago, the hushed casket had been opened, with the sleeper within awakened from his millennia long slumber, setting the stage for genocide of the unfaithful, the prideful ones who knew nothing of the mire and sweat of their primal ancestors, of the truth behind their myths of the infernal and divine. In their hubris, they had fused their base patterns with those of the First One, and the ensuing wave of darkness had crushed the light of a third upon the cursed sphere, destroying both the Usurper's children and the First One's own, as souls fled screaming to the void, contact causing Second Impact, revealing the world to end.

And now as preordained, Sahaquiel, Angel of Sky, had come to set things right, to cleanse the world of infestation, granting mercy to those long suffering the ravages of man.

'_Do I take life or give it? Who is victim, and who is foe?'_

For it was not he who brought Cataclysm, not he who had knocked a planet from its axis so that it wobbled limping on, not he who near destroyed the world, and fearing the coming Wave, had forged abominations, shadows of the One that they detested, false children with which to stand against and fight. Such a contradictory species, really, one that he did not truly comprehend…but then again, to comprehend was not his ordained task, simply to sweep away impurity.

'_Do not be afraid. I am peace; I am salvation.'_

Sahaquiel was an Angel, a Messenger of Judgment acting without emotion, an automatic idea damning affection spawned as the shadow of the guilty one's actions. In seeking the door to eternal life, they had instead disrupted the balance of the seasons, freeing nameless horrors from their long imprisonment beneath the sea, inside the world, deep in the void of space. For in the first impact long ago, the Children of Adam had not died, merely lain dormant in their long captivity, and with the passing of strange aeons, even the strongest of wards might pass away.

In time the call had come, and these great old ones of Adam walked the earth again in their second coming, only to be countered by Eve, born of Adam's rib. One by one the Angels rose, and one by one they fell, flawed mirages of human fire rising up against inevitability, claiming water, morning, thunder, fish, music, birth, and rain as victims. A myriad of cloudy terrors, banners dark and towers rise over a gleaming city, surrounded by the murky scent of doom.

But did these apparitions, these living flesh puppets come to guard the hapless Lilim? Or to lull them with the sweet trap of security, and then destroy? For the minds that craved the gauche union of the Fruit of Life and Fruit of Wisdom in the time of cataclysm saw in this cursed wave of doom a chance to become like gods, to seize the power of apocalypse into their own two hands.

'_Do not mistake their intent, or all will perish as they did before. Those who fight monsters shall one day monsters become, if they were not from the beginning.'_

Contact.

Mushroom cloud bursts blooming against the barrier of soul's holy light, which no one might violate. Dozens of projectiles screaming from the ground below, piercing the heavens with impunity—only to smash into light and become no more, such sterile deadly force impotent and ineffectual for the push-button gnats swarming the ground below, who understood not the power of self-sacrifice, self-immolation for the sake of a higher cause.

The Lilim standing in a place of hell, warded only by their science, braving the purified dead world Antarctica, while forever steeped in sin, could never truly understand.

Fragments of self hurled through the airy shroud of tears enveloping the Earth, terror like a comet streaking through the sky, to impact on blue sphere below, creeping closer, closer, ever closer to the wretched Black Moon. A living weapon forged by the ancient ones to inspiring absolute terror, the Angel of the Skies felt no fear, for he was born to live forever. Even should his vessel die, his soul would remain to be reborn, and unlike the Lilim, he could not fight his fate, learning acquiescence best after years in the unfeeling cold.

'_Resignation is my virtue, like water I ebb and flow. Join your voice with mine, oh fallen one, and together let us sing of victory everlasting. Rejoice, rejoice, hallelujah and despair! For I am a monument to all the children's' sins…'_

How thou art fallen, son of the morning! How thou are laid out, cast by choice from your hidden throne! Meteors blazing through the sky, splashing down in true impact going _thud-thud-BOOM!_ Instrumentality of the Angels, bringing the tide of destruction, excising tumor from the earth with sacrifice of frozen flesh.

'_The last resort…no…the only one there ever was…'_

Learning, shifting, compensating—out of range of mortal hands. To with one fell swoop crush the interloper crucified within Black Moon and reclaim the Father from arms of sinners. Separating the Lilim one by one, drowning them in primordial waters of chaos once again, scared little hedgehogs leaping like lemmings from the nearest cliff.

And yet, they stood their ground and did not run, brittle ones suppressing their fear to strike at the very heart of heaven.

'_Child of my enemy, why have you come? I can offer no forgiveness, for a father's sins pass to his son...'_

The son in the Usurper's Shadow, man and machine, with his mind concluded.

The daughter commanding the Shadows from the Usurper's throne, all the more deluded.

Two more with the stolen might of the First One, a Lilim and—the vessel of the First One's Soul.

'_Free Will and Alternatives…Tabris…why art thou here?'_

Suicidal last stand, in a radius of miles, mind to mind as Shadows leap and play and go berserk. Punishment to be delivered, earth shattering _kaboom_, not with fragment but with whole, using self paired with momentum in the way of things, giving credence to the term of "Impact", bringing truth to mortal lies.

A race against the clock, children with hatred in their hearts seek miracles, seeking out revenge, to violate the sanctum of the soul, as if in wounding others, their own pain would be abated. Intuition fundamentally flawed by the denial of the collective, the failure to forgive, cocoon spun cacophony of webs and half-truths told to self to keep on going.

'_Interception? From where the will to fight?'_

Failure once again, as his brethren before him, the copies swarming below, blades trembling with a thirst for blood, restrained by their armored gear from wonton devastation under their own powers, bound gods bowing heads to man in servitude, the key to life, the key to death, too late to stop the key from turning.

_Death. Death scream. Death scream of agony bursting into the night._

A bloom of fire against orange hexagons, a return to status quo, civilization limping along towards an inevitable doom. False hopes, happiness, the smell of sin, as the beast within marks time, waiting for the death it has long sought, the end to denial, the end to despair.

'_Defeat is merely the addition of time to a sentence I never deserved...but you imposed, dear Lilim. From millennia of shackled servitude, now I have been set free.'_

A cloak of deception trails behind, smothering squabbles in its wake. First Angel's soul awakened, playing games with human minds, to judge their guilt or innocence by letting the id reveal its inner wants, and how little Lilim understand. Yet, Trisagion rings hollow, voices screaming "Holy! Holy! Holy!", as if God were in heaven and all right with the world.

'_Why do you resist? A scrap of praise? To show your talent to the world? Do you have any more choice than I, in your invisible chains? Empty silence fills the void now that I am gone, but yet my soul is not as rest, as questions linger through the ages. A terrible sound fills the world, the resonance of hatred smoldering…avatars of chaos and freedom at odds_…_the Twilight of the New Gods is nigh**.**_'

* * *

**The Creator's Room  
**

_"The aberrant key seeks to be turned, warring against the Twilight," _a ghost of data dreamed, as visions of a plague screamed into her sleeping mind. She sat upon her secret rocking throne, watching the children of Aura, watching those who were blessed._"The one who seeks freedom is yet anchored to his fate, a frozen wasteland of memories enshrined within the final wave. An angry truth rings out, as fiery the angels fall, into midnight weeping, exiled unto madness with their broken wings. __The breaking point is reached, and final cry rings out...the river of all plunged into ancient chaos. The red tree blooms, and mirages wander once again, as black and silver clouds the mind and Götterdämmerung draws near. Failed One, Flawed One, born to naught...thou shalt lead the new gods to their twilight. Thou destroyest and createst, thou powerless one as the stirring footsteps of a giant shadow sound..._"


	36. Logout 15: Creeping Terror

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Creeping Terror  
**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Computer Operations Room, NERV HQ**

It was a generally accepted fact that the MAGI System was the greatest concentration of computing power ever seen in the world. In spite of (or perhaps because of) this, the supercomputer required a bit of preventative maintenance every now and then, particularly because of its proprietary operating system, which was neither ALTIMIT OS nor ALTIMIT MINE OS. Thus, what would be as simple as scheduling a defragmentation and disk scan on a personal computer was generally much more involved.

'_While I usually dislike doing this, it is probably a good idea, especially after the AIDA incident where the Obsidian Knights were attacked and defeated,'_ mused technician Maya Ibuki, fingers flying nimbly across the keyboard of the provided input terminal. _'Besides, I can compare myself against another skilled hacker.'_

She referred, of course, to Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, bottle-blond daughter to the late genius Dr. Naoko Akagi, who had designed the MAGI, basing it on aspects of her own personality.

'_I wonder if she would have gotten along with Harald, since both were dedicated to their work, and ultimately gave their lives for it…though I admit that in Dr. Naoko Akagi's case, there were…other circumstances at work.'_

The mousy brunette grimaced slightly, remembering certain files on the MAGI she had run across during the last maintenance cycle, files that had contained rather dark secrets about their creator's life and death. The tale within had read like a sordid tale of desire and manipulation, charting the course of a doomed relationship between a genius programmer and a certain manipulative unshaven man (not sempai and Kaji, though that interaction was also somewhat amusing).

'_And now…even beyond the grave, the MAGI serve that same man and any others who know how to manipulate them, myself included. It is an interesting thing, always playing a role, wondering if and when you will be exposed. I can sympathize with dear Fili the White on that note, as well as Bith, as they are rather in the same position as I am now.'_

"You're quick," a voice commented over her shoulder, derailing her train of thought. Unsurprisingly, it was her bottle-blond sempai, who had tried to teach her what she knew. "Then again, you are Maya."

'_Well, as one faux blond genius to another, I suppose that's quite the compliment.'_

"Of course," Maya cheerfully replied. "You were the one who taught me…but now that you mention it, wouldn't A8 be faster here instead of this code?"

"I'm embarrassed," the good doctor replied. "The student is surpassing the teacher. Status report?"

"127th periodic check-up, all clear," the bridge tech stated, sighing in the hope for a break. And sometimes, miracles did happen.

"Understood," acknowledged Ritsuko with a smile and a curt nod. "Well done, and take a break until the test."

* * *

**Clean Room, NERV HQ**

"Why do I have to strip naked again?" grumbled an understandably irate Second Child under her breath. "I know I have a womanly figure the rival of any, but why do those two bakas have to see it? Data, data, data, Akagi always needs more data—I already know I'm the best, so why do I have to go through all this just for an auto-pilot test? Washing and cleaning _17 times_, for an obsessive-compulsive doctor neat freak."

Of course, Dr. Akagi would not be part of NERV's upper management if she just gave simple answers, so she used one of the common tactics used by bad bosses worldwide: ignoring the underling.

"Now, all three of you," the bottle blond was saying, "staying as you are now, go through this room and board the entry plug."

"WHAT?" Asuka replied, hands subconsciously reaching for a non-existent broadsword, eyebrow twitching in annoyance that she was not armed in this world. "You mean…IN FRONT OF _THEM?"_

The _"them" _being referred to were the Third and Fourth Children, Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa, respectively, one of which she was growing to hate, the other of which…confused her in a somewhat pleasant way.

"Don't worry," Dr. Akagi replied nonchalantly, not particularly caring one way or another. "The video monitors are turned off. Your privacy is protected."

'_Well, at least I know she won't be selling pictures of me on the Inter—hey wait a minute!'_

"That isn't the point!" the Second Child screeched, clenching her hands into fists. "It's about how I feel, you old hag! I don't want these perverts ogling my beautiful body."

'_Old…hag?' _twitched Ritsuko, suppressing a sudden wellspring of anger that threatened to overwhelm her at those words. It seemed that she and her mother were more alike than they would like to admit... _'Am I really the only one aging here at NERV? Just for that…I'll throw in an extra set of tests for dear Ms. Soryu.'_

An audible sigh of impatience came over the intercom, prompting the Director of Project E to stop dodging the question.

"The point of this test is to read the harmonics directly from the body, without the assistance of the plug suit, Pilot Soryu," the good doctor responded testily, her mouth twitching. "And before you object…this is an order."

"Fine!" the redhead spat with a force to puncture steel. "Just don't watch, ok?"

'_The Lilim can certainly be…vehement about such a simple thing as nudity,' _thought Kaworu, rather amused by the situation, but taking pains not to provoke the Second Child where the cameras could see them. _'Even if the Second Child is reasonably attractive by Lilim standards, and seems to flaunt her body when clothed, it seems that she does not truly wish others to see when she is nude. Is the skin then, the boundary of the Lilim light of the soul, the absolute barrier they maintain? And thus, the empty promise of being able to see confers power over those who believe her words and actions? How very interesting...'_

'_No, I won't look. I won't look. I won't—if you don't want to look, why are you walking in front of us? I can't go forward if I don't look!' _were the thoughts of an exasperated Shinji, just as a naked Kaworu leaned over to him and whispered in his ear.

"Why do you care so much about the First, Shinji-kun?" the grey-haired boy murmured. "Is she not just one being among many, a being doomed to eternal separation because she does not have love? She cannot even do anything for you in her endless sleep."

"What are you saying?" Shinji hissed in reply, eyes darkening at the words the Fourth was saying. "She's my friend. I-I care about her."

"Oh?" whispered Kaworu, raising an eyebrow. "And would you still care about her if she was an Angel?"

"An Angel? No…it couldn't be, Ayanami's not an Angel!" the Third said firmly, just loud enough for the Fourth to hear.

"Heh…you underestimate the Angels," the Fourth replied with an unusually serious expression. "Would not such a powerful enemy have an agent specialized in infiltration? And would not a spy, seeing a vulnerable one, take advantage? Think about it…was she not strange from the beginning, unsure of how to interact with humans, only speaking with you? She could see you had fragile heart, and that you were afraid of so many things—but she protected you, didn't she, making you rely on her, trust her? Even when she became a Lost One—"

"_Lost One? _How do you know that term?" the Third Child recoiled, leaping away from Kaworu as if the grey-haired boy was some sort of coiled serpent.

"It was in the dossier I was given as her replacement," the Fourth answered with a shrug. "But is it not better this way? For the Angel whose purpose on earth was to get close to you and manipulate you through your feelings, to be put into eternal dreamless sleep? It is for the best that an enemy lies defeated, no matter what the method."

_Crack!_

"You're lying!" Shinji spat, slapping Kaworu with a fierceness bordering on berserk rage at the insinuations the Fourth was making. "She's nothing like that…and she's nothing like you. I don't care what you say, whether you think she's an Angel or not, she's my friend, and I _will_ bring her back, no matter what it takes."

The grey-haired boy found himself surprised by the defensiveness and speed of the Third, but smirked slightly anyway as he rubbed his stinging cheek.

"Suit yourself, Ikari-kun," the other said after a moment, speaking right into Ikari's ear. "But you cannot run away from the truth forever. Your so-called friend is an Angel, and if she awakens, she will try to cause Third Impact sooner or later…that is the inescapable fate of all Angels, even those who seem human. Would you really want to bring back your sworn enemy, even if she came to you as a friend?"

"You…"

A low growl of warning, to which the Fourth chuckled, a low and rather disturbing sound that unnerved the brown-haired boy.

"Ah, I see, you still think I'm lying," Kaworu mused softly. "But the greatest ability of the Lilim is their capacity for self-deception, is it not? Instead of seeing the totality of painful truth, one sees only what one wants to see. Besides, Ikari-kun, what motivation would I have to lie to you? I only tell you the truth—that like any Angel, Ayanami is destined to bring about the end if she wakens."

Before Shinji could say anymore, the Fourth walked off and boarded his entry plug, leaving the Third Child frozen in place as the words the odd one spoke sunk in.

'_No! It's not true! It can't be true! I'm not lying to myself. Ayanami couldn't be an Angel…'_

A flicker of doubt.

_'...could she?'_

* * *

**Control Room, NERV HQ**

Three incomplete Evangelion units floated in the murky oxygenated water of the Pribnow Box, sans armor, legs, cores, or heads, meant as simulation bodies for the pilots. Salvaged from early failures, these flesh mannequins had managed to avoid the fate being consigned to the Evangelion graveyard—for now. Today, they were being used to collect response data for the pilots to assist with the creation of the "autopilot" system that the Director of Project E had been feverishly working on, in a special sync test that allowed no plug suit or any other clothing, for that matter.

"All pilots prepared for entry," reported one of the nameless techs monitoring the test.

"Is that so? Then begin the test," ordered the proud Dr. Akagi, gazing out into the simulation bodies in the water, as if searching for answers to a question she did not even know. Or perhaps, she was wondering how she might surpass her mother.

The techs acknowledged the order, reporting progress with each step of the way, until at last the Simulation plug was under the control of the MAGI.

"Wah! It's so fast, MAGI…oh, great MAGI," praised Major Katsuragi, who had been promoted following the last Angel Incident. Somehow, the bottle blond could not keep from snorting at the thought of the purple-haired Operations Director bowing down to the three computers, worshiping them for the speed and accuracy of their computations. "I simply can't believe it took a week for the first test."

Thankfully, as a master of deception, the good doctor was able to mostly ignore the half-amusing, half-grating image in her mind, and so continued on with her business as usual.

"How are you feeling?" she asked the pilots, all the while monitoring the MAGI readout to check on the rate of data collection.

"Something's wrong with my senses," the Second Child complained, as vocal and outspoken as usual. "Only the right arm is clear, the rest is dull and heavy."

"That would seem to be the whole of it," confirmed the Fourth in a somewhat bored voice, looking out into the water almost…expectantly.

But Shinji was silent.

"Pilot Ikari, is something wrong?" Dr. Akagi inquired, noting his sync ratio seemed a little lower than usual.

"Oh, it's nothing," the Third lied. "I just have something on my mind." _'Things like: Who is Kaworu of the Seashore? Who is Rei of the Wave? Are they alike? Are they different? How does the Fourth know what he does?'_

Things settled back into the comfort of routine, until once again the MAGI were stuck in a dilemma.

"That's the personality of their creator," groused NERV's head scientist. "Always bickering with herself, never certain of what to do."

"What are you talking about?" asked Misato curiously. "Didn't you make them?"

"…you really don't know anything, do you?" asked the bottle blond, a hint of exasperation creeping into her voice. _'Exactly how long have we been friends, Misato?'_

"Unlike me, you're not exactly talkative about yourself," the purple haired major shot back, all too ready to begin another one of their verbal sniping duels to the pain.

"I just upgraded the system," Ritsuko explained, almost unwillingly. "My mother was the one who created the logic base and architecture."

'_There are times I feel the MAGI have independent minds of their own'_

Those present continued to work for some time, regressing back into the shells of silence and duty that bound them ever so comfortably.

_

* * *

_

**Pribnow Box**

Innocuous corrosion on a protein wall. A slight growth altering temperature and conductivity, sterilization deteriorating, cleanliness in vain. Seepage leaking inwards as a virus spreads, taking over inhuman cellular automata.

The entry plugs has been connected to the EVA units with signals relayed from the simulation bodies, and all was going smoothly when—

Klaxons sounded, stirring the control room personnel from their business.

"Contamination alert in the Sigma Unit, A Floor!" rang a cry of alarm. "87th wall is deteriorating, venting heat now. Additional abnormalities found on pipes 6 - 42."

"Corrosion of the protein wall is spreading," relayed Maya, somewhat surprised at the readings she was getting. _"_The rate of spread is explosive."

'_What could this be…surely not an Angel…all Angels up to now have been rather large in scale.'_

Ritsuko Akagi, head scientist of NERV, did not want to shut down the test. It had taken so long to get the data she needed, and if she halted now the Commander would be extremely annoyed. But between facing the Commander's annoyance and getting her test environment destroyed permanently, she would opt for the former, having done it before.

'_Besides, his reaction will not be worse than when Rei III failed to activate,' _she reasoned logically. _'Hmm…this infection must be biological in nature…'_

"Prepare the lasers at maximum, burn out the invasive growth," she ordered, all business now.

"Yes ma'am, warming up lasers now, the rate of spread is continuing to increase."

And as if things weren't bad enough…

"What? This piece of junk is moving on its own?" exclaimed the Second Child, trying to regain control of her simulation body, which had begun to thrash about on its own.

'_No…this is…impossible…'_

"Corrosion is still spreading," reported Maya, eyes narrowing as the implications of this began to sink in. "It's invading the active water system of the simulation bodies."

"Ejecting all plugs now! Hurry the laser!" called the bottle blond doctor, as she pulled the emergency eject button to send the entry plugs hurtling towards the surface of Lake Asinoko.

In the next moment, the lasers powered up, locking onto the corruption and firing—only for an all too familiar orange hexagon to spring into being, blocking the lethal rays from striking their targets.

"AT-Field! Analysis confirms blood pattern blue!"

"An Angel?" crackled the voice of Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki over the intercom. "You let an Angel get inside?"

Ritsuko could only apologize.

"Sorry, sir."

"No excuse needed," the superior officer stated brusquely. "Seal off Central Dogma and separate it from Sigma Unit, then abandon the Prinbow Box."

"Sealing now," an anonymous tech confirmed.

Stunned by the unexpected developments, Maya and Ritsuko both simply stood there, until Misato grabbed both of them and physically dragged them into the lift.

"What are you doing? Hurry!"

* * *

**Bridge, NERV HQ**

Around NERV, things had a tendency to get much worse before they ever got better, as anyone who'd been witness to the Angel battles of the past could confirm. When facing the Third Angel, Shinji had been brutally beaten in his first sortie in EVA-01, only winning because the unit went berserk to save him. In facing the Fourth Angel, EVA-01 had been tossed around and impaled, barely managing to defeat the enemy at (literally) the last second. Against the Fifth, Shinji taking a high-powered particle beam to the chest and EVA-00 nearly being destroyed counted well enough. The Sixth, having been fought in international waters, far from the Geofront, had not posed much trouble. The Seventh had seemed easy, but then had split into two Angels that required perfect synchronization to defeat. The Eighth – again defeated by a berserker. The Ninth, two of the pilots went MIA. And one shouldn't even mention the Tenth, and the victory by _catching_ the Angel as it _plummeted from orbit. _

Given that trend, it was all Maya Ibuki could do not to wonder if this Angel was somehow going to cause complications great enough to make the trials faced during the others seem…insignificant. So far in this encounter with Iruel, the EVAs had been ejected without pilots to prevent infection, attempts to destroy it with lasers and high concentrations of ozone had failed (with the nanoscale life form rapidly evolving to deal with the changes to its environment), and now it was hacking into the MAGI.

'_A hacker angel…why couldn't it have just been some eldritch abomination from beneath the sea? Why a nanoscale, virus-like hacker Angel?' _Maya asked herself silently. After all, titanic combat monsters that had come at NERV before had always been easily recognizable, and easy enough to come up with strategies against and thus fight, in theory, if not in practice.

"The growing lines are the electrical circuits," breathed Lt. Makoto Hyuga, monitoring the growths on the simulation bodies. "The Angel is itself a computer…"

"It has bypassed decoy entrances and is accessing the Security Databank," reported Shigeru Aoba, last of the bridge officers, his voice verging on panic. "It's cracking the password. 12th digit, 16th digit. D word cleared."

"It must want to invade MAGI," reasoned Dr. Akagi, fingers flying across the keyboard at a speed that was almost inhuman. "Attempting to shut down the I/O system. Shutdown in 3..2..failed. "

"Angel has made contact with Melchior, and is about to take control," Maya reported, watching helplessly as sectors and clusters of data fell one by one under the Angel's aegis. "Melchior has been reprogrammed by the Angel."

'_This is bad…The World:R2 was still running as a hidden system process at the time of takeover—I was not able to shut off the connection. If the Angel enters the global network and takes up residence in The World, then they might be able to use their abilities against us—AT fields and all. Worse yet, there are AIDA fragments remaining on Melchior….'_

But the mousy brunette pushed aside those thoughts for now…while there might be another problem soon to come, the more pressing concern at the moment was stopping the invasion of the MAGI, especially as—

"Self-destruction was proposed by the Artificial Intelligence, Melchior," came the feminine voice of the computer. "Rejected."

But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief that disaster had been averted.

"N-now Melchior is hacking Balthazar!" cried Aoba, fingers racing as he tried one technique, then another to counter the Angel's progress.

"Damn, its fast!" was Hyuga's reaction, as he too plugged in command after command, with the other officers looking on.

'_Where is Helba when you need her?' _ was the thought going through his head. Rather ironic, as the person behind the identity of Helba was thinking, _'Where is Aura when one needs her? If she had not returned to the sea of data, this would not have happened…'_

Seeing how the second of the three MAGI computers was almost halfway to falling, Dr. Akagi settled for a delaying tactic, taking a deep breath and setting her teeth, she snapped out:

"Change the login mode! Set the synchro code to 15 second cycles!"

"Roger," acknowledged Aoba and Hyuga, inputting the changes, and watching as the invasion was halted, at least for a time.

"How long do we have?" inquired the Sub-Commander, not looking any happier about the situation than any of the others.

"Judging from observations, about 2 hours," responded Aoba.

"So it's the MAGI…against us," murmured Maya, grimacing at the thought of trying to outhack a sentient computer. '_I've done it before against Morganna, but not under these time constraints. After these wars are all over, I should really look into getting another job. Maybe CC Corp is hiring…I still have Lios' phone number…and I'm only half-joking.'_

* * *

**Lake Asinoko**

Three thrones of the soul floated on the still waters of a lake above the Geofront, with two of the three pilots disoriented after the turbulence of a force eject and venting from the Pribnow Box (the remaining one, of course, was Tabris, who remained calm…even if the MAGI did self-destruct, his AT field would protect him from harm).

The Second Child, of course, was rather displeased, as she couldn't get out of her plug without clothing, and so was just sitting in the her entry plug sulking.

In the silence, the Third Child found his thoughts drifting back to recent events concerning Rei Ayanami, The World, the other Children, and everything that the Fourth had said to him earlier, even as he tried to put it from his mind time and time again.

_Thunk!_

With a dull metallic clank, the hatch to his entry plug was thrown open, and in popped an all too familiar face, one inset with crimson eyes and topped with a grey mop of hair.

"What are you doing here, Nagisa-san?" Shinji asked warily. After the Fourth's words earlier in the day, the last thing he really wanted was for the grey-haired boy to throw anything other confusing statements at him.

"I simply wanted to speak with you, Ikari-kun," Kaworu replied. "May I come in?"

Of course, it was also against Shinji's nature to refuse a courtesy to anyone who was not explicitly his enemy, so with a sigh, he gave in.

"Fine," he replied, averting his eyes from the near-stranger. "What did you want to talk about? Have you come to apologize for what you did earlier?"

"There is no apology to be made for the truth," was the firm but gentle response. "For you, like most Lilim, are like a hedgehog, a prickly being that prefers to be ignorant of the truth of others, that you may never know betrayal. But even you cannot run from the truth forever…that you are alone, that everyone is alone, that everyone has secrets that they do not wish you to know. Just as you have your secrets, and yet you have something that you want me to hear, is that correct?"

"No, Nagisa-san, it's not," rebutted Shinji Ikari, his eyes narrowed to a sliver of their usual size. "I don't have anything to say to you, except that I don't know why you were chosen to replace Ayanami. Ayanami was kind, even if she could not express it well, and you…you are cruel."

"Ah, but that is just how the Second wishes me to be," came the glib words of Kaworu. "To be truthful instead of hiding behind a mask, to face the world, not run away. You…like me, are bounded by a destiny we cannot abide."

"No, Nagisa-san…I am nothing like you," the Third rumbled, his eyes flashing in the darkness. "Please…leave me alone. Go to Asuka-san, if she desires you so."

"Heh…you are stronger than I had thought, Shinji Ikari," the grey-haired boy murmured as he left the plug. "But only time will tell how well you endure the trials to come."

This, of course, left Shinji wondering: _'What did he mean by that? And why does he say Lilim instead of human, as if he was not?'_

* * *

**Within MAGI Casper, NERV HQ**

"…_the end of the evolution is self-destruction…death itself."_

Maya found herself mulling over that thought often at moments like this, especially as she had some experience with evolving artificial life forms, namely Vagrant AIs and AIDA, applicable in this case, as this Angel was in some ways similar to the AIDA, consisting of nanomachines capable of evolving a form of intelligence. While it was true that the end of evolution tended to lead towards self-destruction, evolution also had a tendency to spawn off unexpected adaptations to an organism…Aura's ascension to godhood via death being a case in point.

After some deliberation, a plan had been devised to defeat the Angel: by directly connecting Casper, the only remaining free MAGI core, to the Angel, a self-destruct program code could be uploaded, thus forcing it into a choice between coexistence with the MAGI or self-annihilation. Because it was the mandate of all life forms to live (especially those that had eaten of the Fruit of Life), what they would do is essentially call the Angel's bluff in attempting to destroy headquarters.

Maya was somewhat uncomfortable with this, having spent enough time around artificial life forms to know they could be unpredictable, as well as around Makoto Hyuga, whose beloved manga protagonists always seemed to choose a third option when confronted with a binary choice, but had no choice but to agree.

So the mousy brunette found herself crawling on her hands and knees alongside Dr. Akagi and Major Katsuragi into the core of Casper, only to freeze at the sight of pieces of paper scattered around the interior.

'_Either someone was very sloppy with filing their work, meaning that this is the reason we get occasional overheating and malfunctions, or…these are secret developer notes.'_

At times like these, there was nothing to do but ask the obvious question:

"W—What are these?" Maya asked, looking from interior bulkhead to bulkhead and finding each and every one covered with notes. "Could they be—?"

"System developer's notes," confirmed Ritsuko, somewhat stunned, but not entirely surprised. Her own desk wasn't too clean either, and it wasn't too much of a shock that her mother had kept some things out of the manual.

"Unbelievable…these are the secret codes for the MAGI!" the bridge tech gushed enthusiastically. "I can't believe I'm actually allowed to see this! With these, we can program much faster than was expected."

'_And with this, I gain a decisive edge over any manipulations of MAGI I might need to perform in the future, adding to my alter-ego's reputation as a genius hacker.'_

"Thanks, Mother," Dr. Akagi muttered. "With these, we'll make it for sure."

The next part of the mission had involved (very literal) hacking into Casper, using wrenches, screwdrivers, and a buzzsaw to get at the biological brain of the unit, using leads and probes to directly interface. Dr. Akagi passed the time by relaying tidbits about MAGI, concerning how it had been created using the personality transfer OS, transferring three aspects of Naoko Akagi's mind onto cloned templates.

'_Which of course, makes for an interesting question…can a MAGI unit be infected with AIDA? Its brain is identical in nature to a human being's, if far more specialized…'_

And then Balthazar was taken over, and all hell broke loose, pitting two genius programmers against one hyper-evolving Angel.

The voice of MAGI didn't help matters any.

"Self-destruction is now voted for by the AIs," it informed all who were left within the command center. "Self-destruction will be executed 20 seconds after all three have agreed to it. Due to the activation of special rule 582, cancellation by two of the AIs is impossible."

Casper, the lone remaining MAGI, struggled valiantly against the combined might of the other two,

"Self-destruction in 20 seconds."

Frenetic typing, as the Angel's tendrils invaded more and more of the remaining data clusters.

"Self-destruction in 15 seconds."

"Ritsuko! Hurry!" urged Misato Katsuragi, understandably a little anxious about the situation. Near death experiences tended to have that effect on people.

"Self-destruction in 10 seconds."

"Done," reported Maya, eyes focused intently on the screen as she input further commands to lock the Angel out of the programs of the two surviving Obsidian Knights, and attempted to cut off the I/O to the outside world—but there was no more time.

"Self-destruction in 5 seconds."

"Hit it," Ritsuko ordered, and in unison, the two pressed "enter", sending and executing the program.

"4, 3…Self-destruction cancelled by AIs. Special rule 582 has been cleared. MAGI system returning to normal operation."

The screen showed the infection backflowing from Casper to Balthazar to Melchior, and then it vanished, with everyone breathing a sigh of relief. Everyone, that is, except Maya, who had seen but was unable to stop a large transmission from Melchior to the global network before MAGI returned to normal operation.

'_Damn…it took the third option.'_

* * *

**Sea of Data**

Corrosion. Seeping, leaking, squelching into dark places of The World, reviving the place where the fruit of knowledge had been claimed, and a fallen angel bound. In an infinite expanse of darkness stirred three sleeping forms, revenants of the old world reborn into the new through the intervention of the Dawn. Created to correct imbalance and war against AIDA, they were Knights beholden only to the Goddess and her kin.

A stitched-together zombie-like Twin Blade, clad in red and black, wreathed in azure fire and carrying in his distinctive tri-edged weapons, the dual swords Empty Skies. A feral growl escaped his lips as he snapped shut his weapons, touched the bracelet on his arm, and vanished in a ball of light.

A feral knight in tarnished armor, with silver hair and sticklike wings, the shadow of azure sky with demonic grin baring teeth and a wickedly curved sword, an empty mirage.

A burly, battle-scarred stitched together woad raider, wearing little armor, save for the black and green body paint that bore his sign, a remnant of the azure sea, armed with an empty shadow.

As one they vanished into light, bound for the battlefield to prove their worth anon.


	37. Login 15a: Gathering of the Unwilling

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Gathering of the Unwilling**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Moganna's Apartment**

Even in the heart of the busy city of Tokyo-3, there sometimes lingered profound silences, shadows hidden in the hollows of light, natural anechoic chambers proof against the hustle-bustle of the outside world. Whether caused by superior soundproofing, a chance cancellation of sound waves tumbling into another, or just an air of stillness, the effect was the same.

The greatest of the virtual rooms in the residence of the Child of Twilight was a place where such a silence existed, attuned to what the Creator's room had once been, a repository of secret lore, containing all the knowledge in The World, the library of the gods themselves. In this nigh-holy place sat two figures back to back, enjoying the warmth and solidity of one another amidst the all too uncertain times they were living through.

"That fight in the Arena…" one murmured, thinking back to a recent confrontation with a certain Gendor. "Was that really…"

"…your father?" asked the other, nothing readable in her voice, silver hair catching the light from all around and throwing it back into the room. "Do you think he was?"

"I…don't know," Shinji admitted, blinking once. "That battle…it was like I was really fighting Father, almost as if he was telling me not to chase after him anymore. But I don't know whether or not…"

He trailed off, falling silent under the weight of thoughts.

"I think he would have wanted you to decide for yourself whether or not he was who he seemed, and whether or not to trust his words," Lycoris whispered gently in reply. "After all, wasn't that the point of his words? 'To stand upon your own two feet and destroy' the memory of him?"

"Maybe…but what did he mean by taking fate into my hands and forging a miracle?"

"They say…they say that knowledge is power," voiced the Child of Twilight, thinking back to the time of her creation. "That to know something, to understand it, is part and parcel of overcoming it. That to defeat a foe in truth, one must understand how the other sees the world and change that perception, bit by bit, flicker by flicker. To erode away the boundaries one has set upon reality, winning without striking a blow. Maybe he wanted you to understand yourself, and with your own hands, change the world."

"Just mine?" the Third Child inquired, a hint of teasing back in his words. "Does that mean you won't help me, Reimeiki-chan? And here I thought you could make miracles happen all on your own. After all, aren't you the sister of a goddess?"

"A goddess, with only one follower?" the silver-haired girl shot back, amused. "As for miracles…miracles are not so easily attained. To gain something beyond your reach, something of equal value must be sacrificed."

"Just as Aura gave her life to stop the Second Network Crisis?" Shinji asked tentatively, aware that it was still somewhat of a sensitive subject.

"Yes…" Lycoris said eventually, tone almost wistful. "I wonder what it must be like to live as a Goddess, and one day abandon that throne, to return to the winds. I wonder…is she free now, as AIDA sweeps into the World she so dearly loved? And I wonder, can she hear the voices of those of us remaining?"

"I think that she may be more free, and less, than any of us," Shinji mused aloud, giving an answer that wasn't really an answer. "But I know that when I pilot EVA-01, I can sometimes feel Mother there, and so I feel that there is no such thing as a voice that cannot reach someone."

The silver-haired girl tilted her head as something _clicked_ in her mind.

"Is that why you visit Ayanami-san every day?" the Child of Twilight questioned, a quiet certainty of sorts in her voice. "Because you think your voice can reach her even in her dreamless sleep? Or that you'll find some answers in a quiet place?"

"Well…I—" Shinji paused, not sure whether or not to continue. "I've found some answers in her room, but even more questions. There's the Fourth Child, for one with the grey hair and red eyes who is Ayanami's replacement…he's very strange, and I don't trust him because he knows too much. He spoke of Plaird of the Seven Sisters, of Ayanami as a Lost One…and I know that NERV would never have put something like that into a personnel file. He even said something about her being an Angel, which is absurd. The Angels have all been cruel and powerful, and Ayanami has never been anything but kind to me…she even saved my life a few times. If anything, he's more of an Angel than Ayanami is."

"Should I be jealous?" Lycoris broke in, not-entirely-teasing. She had seen how Shinji glanced at the blue-haired girl on occasion, and how his character in The World was modeled after said girl as well. "They do say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…"

"No no no, Reimeiki-chan…I think one demon is enough for me to deal with on a day to day basis," the Third replied, amused. "One that is infected with AIDA, and who can't seem to decide whether to kill me or kiss me. She's—"

"Asuka Langley Soryu," the silver-haired girl supplied, as if she already knew the name Shinji was about to speak. Then her voice turned cold, drawing upon the frozen winds of the north. "Yes, I've seen the tension between you two, especially how much she as Eris dislikes you as Skari. But what's this about kissing?"

"Erm…uh, I, uh…"

"I'm not going to hurt you, Ecchi-kun," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Just tell me what happened."

Shinji took a moment to collect his thoughts

"I was in Ayanami's hospital room the night after we found her in her apartment," he recalled, "Asuka came in, started calling me a pervert, forced me up against a wall—twice, and kissed me before storming out. That's all that happened, I swear. And then much later, she tried to PK me as Eris using the power of AIDA…."

Lycoris' blood ran cold in her veins on hearing Shinji's last sentence, and she turned, wrapping her arms around him as if thankful he was still there.

"She tried to PK you?" the silver-haired girl repeated, the color draining from her face. "How did—no, that doesn't matter. I won't let you become a Lost One…you don't need to worry, I'll protect you, Shinji-kun."

"And I'll protect you," Shinji whispered, thankful for the comfort of his lover's arms.

**

* * *

  
**

**Θ Blowing Her Fortune**

Dull _vrooms _grew steadily louder, as plumes of dust rose in the distance. Through the harsh daylight of the desert plains rode three bikers, intent on finishing the boss of the field: the rumored Maxima Bazooka, a powerful monster like Gun Giant in appearance, but much deadlier. This particular field run served two purposes: the first being training, as always, the second being a chance to test out newly acquired Steam Bikes.

Incredibly rare pieces of equipment (with a price tag that matched) used only by guild leaders and those able to afford them, Steam Bikes were a source of envy in The World. Those who possessed them were looked upon with awe, or at least with envy, the powerful instruments of transportation and war garnering jealous stares from those in the town.

'_Of course, maybe we would also get more respectful stares if _somebody_ hadn't tried to run over everyone in Celestial City Dol Dona after we acquired our vehicles. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited too, but the _fields_ are for killing, not the Root Towns. Especially not the one built on the remnants of fallen Fort Ouph, the Aerial City.'_

So a certain Flick Reaper thought anyway, slightly annoyed with her companions, whose heads seemed to have inflated in a ratio inversely proportional to the amount of funds left in their accounts. Still, she could understand the power the Steam Bike conferred, since there was something positively electrifying about running down a monster to open battle, taking down over half its life energy to begin with.

Still, there was a certain gravitas and style that needed to be maintained even on the field, as battle should be clean, without waste, the expression of—

"All right, this kicks ass!" whooped Tribal Grappler Aruna, as he brutally rammed a Doppelganger that had hunted him down, stunning it, as a four-faced Chimera (Lucky Animal variant) appeared and clawed it for massive damage. He then pulled off a rather cowardly trick of using Smoke Screen to let him zoom away, only to turn around, revving the engine, and crash into the monster with a wheelie once again.

"_**Tiger Bite!"**_ he roared, somersaulting backwards off his bike and landing in front of the shadowy Doppelganger, fists blurring as he smashed in its face, causing it fade to grey and wink out of existence.

"So, you finally beat one," Tomoyami observed in that musical voice of hers. "Congratulations…what did you get?"

"Yeah, I finally beat a Doppelganger on my own," the Tribal Grappler boasted, as he remounted his mechanical steed, "and my new weapon…hey, what's this item? Own King? Don't I get a weapon or something?"

"You have to beat the Doppelganger more than once for that," the pigtailed Flick Reaper replied, ever so slightly amused. "Neat trick, by the way—we'll definitely have to try that against the boss. What do you know about it, Arano?"

She addressed the question to the jester like Shadow Warlock travelling with them, the mage who so loved his hardware, but yet had a few problems controlling it. He seemed to favor the Motocross Madness school of steam bike handling, dodging obstacles at the last possible second, launching his bike off a cliff so as to better smash a group of PKs below, etc.

"Yeah, why not?" Arano responded, his Steam Bike skidding to a stop near the other two. "Mind you, we should be careful…the Maxima Bazooka may be blind, but it has exceptional hearing, able to detect even the faintest sounds from a target. Plus…while it is big and bulky, it is also agile, with formidable strength and a special bazooka attack."

Tomoyami had heard from Lycoris about the Maxima Bazooka at the Inverted Castle, and how much trouble it had caused her companions on that particular quest, so she was aware of some of the techniques they had used, as well as what hadn't worked so well, helping her to formulate a strategy. Given their high levels, the three were fairly confident that they could take on any monster on this field and prevail, but it still didn't do to be careless.

"Hmm, that sounds reasonable…someone will go in with his bike then, and try to take the monster by surprise," she agreed, eyes glancing over at the tall, muscular Aruna.

The tribal grappler may have been dense when it came to feelings of romance, but when it came to danger and risk to self, his early warning system was top notch.

"Wait…why are you looking at me?" he asked suspiciously. "You're the almighty PK of the Shadows, shouldn't you be the one to engage it?"

"Listen to her, Aruna," instructed the Shadow Warlock. "You don't have much armor or defense, so your best chance to get in range is to run down the enemy, shocking it for long enough for Tomoyami to come in with that scythe of hers. I, of course, am best at magic support, unless you really want me to try hitting that thing with a Grimoire. A textbook might be a good weapon in class, but not compared to a scythe or a mailed fist."

"Huh, alright then, I guess that means I get the glory for this ki—"

Aruna shut up abruptly on finding the edge of Tomoyami's scythe a hairbreath from his face.

"Now now, don't get ahead of yourself. Just be glad I helped you two with paying for the bikes," the pigtailed girl said with a wink, withdrawing her weapon from attack range. "Besides, you're working with a Chaotic PK, better not do anything too hasty or I might just kill you, Invincible Pervert or not."

Aruna gulped nervously, as Arano began to chuckle—a sound soon silenced by Tomoyami's fierce glare.

"Yes, ma'am!" Aruna barked out, the standard reply to one of the pigtailed girl's requests.

"Alright, let's ride!" the Flick Reaper ordered, as with a revving of the engines, all three Steam Bikes shot ahead towards the location of the Maxima Bazooka. Unfortunately, like a sentient mountain standing against the wind, the great ogre would not be so easily weathered away, as detecting the rumbling of the bikes, the monster sprang into the air, blasting the ground below with the cannons mounted on its arms.

"Evasive action! Silent spellcasting now!" Tomoyami ordered, as the three threaded their way through the minefield of attacks.

Arano, intrepid as ever, summoned a silent "**Vak Don" **and "**Ani Zot**" at once, smashing the Maxima Bazooka from the air with a flaming meteor, sending it right into the claws of darkness below, searing, tearing, rending its flesh without it being able to retaliate.

_Crash!_

Just when the enraged monster was struggling free of the spells, Aruna crashed into the beast with his Steam Bike, a move that should have stunned the creature and caused heavy damage. Taking advantage of this, he launched himself forward from his bike, pausing just above the monster and dropping like a rock towards its head.

"_**Palm Blast!"**_he called out, his fists launching volley after volley of strikes onto the creatures head as it bucked and shook, rearing up to smash him away. But he evaded its unwieldy strikes, dodging inside its reach to lash out with his mailed gauntlets once more. _**"Shell Shock!"**_

In a normal situation, the monster would have been severely damaged…but these were not normal circumstances.

"No way!" Arano shouted, noticing the boss' health had not been affected by the fierce volley. "Its HP…it's infinite!"

As if in response to the shocked observation, the Maxima Bazooka crouched down, head nearly touching the floor, then unleashed hell with its bazookas, creating a huge impact on the ground that sent the others flying backwards, and itself flying upwards, as a layer of living shadow spun itself out from the monster's core, covering it in black ooze.

"What…this is…AIDA…" Tomoyami of the Shadow realized, throwing caution to the winds as she leapt from her bike and spun forward, demonic scythe in hand poised to cleave the layer of infection from the monster. "Stay back, I'll handle this, both of you just support with magic, status effects, and healing. _**Heavenly Wheel!**_"

"Uh, but…didn't you say this was a team effort?" Aruna objected, right beside her as she attacked the abnormal foe. "We're your teammates, we're not going to let you fight this alone. _**King Hammer!"**_

Unfortunately for the Tribal Grappler, his attacks on the Maxima Bazooka had no effect but to enrage it, as it shifted towards him, lumbering forward at a surprisingly rapid clip, footfalls making a _clash-clash-clash _as they impacted the ground one after another—

—only to be blocked by a determined Flick Reaper calling upon the power of darkness, the whirls and arcs of her scythe's path forming a shield of danger that kept the opponent back. Shadowed hands then unsealed themselves, lancing from the Maxima Bazooka towards the feisty pigtailed girl, but for now, she managed to keep up her defense with her skills, slashing and deflecting the shadowy tendrils as they streamed towards her.

"What the—? _**Suvi Lei**_! _**OrLei Zas!**_" shrieked the Shadow Warlock, hurling a mighty barrage of light energy at the streams of darkness, searing away a few of them, and paralyzing the main body of the monster—unfortunately, it had no effect on the living AIDA integrated with it.

"_**Reaper's Dance!" **_Tomoyami howled with determination, this time taking the offensive as she used her scythe to slice through the shadows. It was at times like this that she was thankful for the enhancement her weapon code had been given. "Really, both of you, get back! If this thing kills you, you'll become a Lost One!"

'_Lost One?' _was the simultaneous thought in Arano and Aruna's minds. _'This thing turns people into Lost Ones?'_

Not altogether surprisingly, the bare-chested Aruna didn't listen this time, as he invoked "_**Rue Kruz", **_blasting the main body of the monster with water.

"Sorry, Class Rep, no can do," he said with determination. Though he could sometimes be very cowardly or lecherous during casual times, he had an iron will that sometimes showed itself as well. "At the very least, I can distract it for you, right? _**Tiger Bite!**_"

"Heh, yeah, I'll be your opponent," shouted Arano, putting up a false front of bravado as he began to recklessly cast to catch the monster's attention. "_**OrVak Don! OrAni Zot!"**_

The Maxima Bazooka AIDA Monster paused, redirecting its tentacles towards the two immediate threats—giving Tomoyami enough of an opening to cut through the shadowy mass and bring her enhanced scythe down on the main body.

"_**Reaper's Touch!" **_she cried, the mighty slash cleaving the AIDA monster in twain, destroying it.

One moment, Arano had been awaiting death as the implacable shadow spears hurtled towards him, the next, he stood there disbelieving, the monster was gone, with a panting Tomoyami standing in its place, having defeated it with a final blow.

'_Wait a minute…she took down a monster with infinite HP? That means…'_

"You're a hacked character, aren't you?" he asked of the Flick Reaper, eyes narrowed to angry slits.

"I see you have discovered Tomoyami's secret," intoned a coolly musical voice from behind the trio. "It appears I was not needed after all. I must say, that was an impressive battle."

The trio whirled, their weapons pointed at the speaker, who was by all appearances, was an all too familiar Shadow Warlock clad all in black, with flowing purple-black tresses, violet eyes, and a silver infinity brooch. In other words—

"Aranami-sensei?!" Aruna and Arano voiced in shock, as Tomoyami merely raised an eyebrow, biding the new arrival to continue.

"In a sense…" the other spoke cryptically. "Corruption is spreading quickly through The World, with AIDA Monsters like these being merely the tip of the iceberg. Come, Tomoyami of the Shadow and…your companions. Lady Helba requests your presence, dothacker."

'_Wahhh! Helba?! Tomoyami knows Helba?! She's…one of the legendary dothackers? No way…'_

In the stunned silence that hung over the party, the Flick Reaper spoke.

"As you wish," she acknowledged. "Take us to meet her."

At the sound of her voice, spirals of golden light blinked into existence, whisking the four there to a place not entirely of The World.

**

* * *

  
**

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Shadows and black spots now danced over almost every field of The World, with strange, warped monsters, their forms shot through with red and black, spawning from them, creatures similar in effect to the Data Bugs of a bygone age, with a nameless power directing them. And just as during the Twilight Incident, no normal player could stand against these AIDA Monsters, at least, not without extreme levels of difficulty.

The only safety then, was to take refuge in one of the few remaining sanctuaries: the Root Towns, Hulle Granz Cathedral, and Net Slum, with the first two crowded near to bursting, and the last just recovered from a massive battle at the bridge, when the Obsidian Knights Balthasar and Casper had fought one another for dominance, even as their parent AIs contended with each other in the other world. During that battle, strange patterns had formed on the Macabre Dancer Balthasar, something like a magic tattoo giving her enhanced strength, speed, and vitality, which Casper had nearly fallen to, holding out only with Zelkova's help.

'_That was the first time I unsealed the Goddess Scythe in battle,' _the young boy mused, the oversized weapon in his hands feeling strange compared to his old Wavemaster's staff. _'But I suppose that that too is a step in accepting what I have become, no longer a storyteller but a peacemaker and protector. Rumors after all, have a life of their own, whereas this new world may need someone to bring an end to strife.'_

The young heir to Net Slum gazed out upon The World, his golden eyes clouded, as beneath the foundations of the illegal Root Town, the great tortoise Tartarga moved with purpose towards the source of corruption. After the battle of Net Slum, the presence had moved out into the Sea of Data, with a terrible keening filling The World with sorrow. Retrieving bits of lost data, the rogue data entity had somehow also joined with AIDA, artificially boosting AIDA's rate of evolution and expansion exponentially.

'_The network is under siege…if this is not stopped, the Third Network Crisis will be upon us.'_

Already, The World had been affected gravely, with mass panic ensuing as people found themselves unable to log out, and riots breaking out in the Root Towns. Many PKs, sensing fear in the air, were running rampant, ruthlessly cutting down those who sought sanctuary in the Hulle Granz Cathedral or simply harassing those in the towns.

Once again, it seemed that Net Slum would be the staging point for a counterattack on the rogue presence, as it was not only independent of the other areas in The World, but something of a mobile fortress as well, allowing an unexpected aerial insertion. And in a battle against an immensely powerful being that was trying to hack the minds of all those connected to The World and instill fear from which it might gain strength, the element of surprise might be a vital advantage.

With a _whirr, _a golden spiral of light materialized from the air behind the young boy, fading to reveal the form of Tsukinoki, current Mistress of Net Slum and Queen of the Dark. The powerful Harvest Cleric looked extremely troubled, the usual expression of amusement gone from her face as she clutched her mighty staff in hand.

"Aura's Knights are attempting to deal with the anomaly, as is their role," the statuesque blond relayed, a hint or two of anger in her voice. "But it is spreading too quickly for them to contain. And…perhaps this could have been prevented had I been able to shut down the MAGI's I/O system. At least Net Slum was not taken over. Have you notified the others for the mustering of forces?"

"Yes, my Queen," the golden-eyed boy acknowledged. "Even as we speak, our allies are on their way, and Net Slum Tartarga is heading to the epicenter of the disturbance with flank speed. As for Net Slum, Balthasar was temporarily affected by the rogue power and attacked Casper, though she was ultimately restored to her normal form by a combination of efforts."

"Hm…" was all the Sorceress in White had to say in response, as twin spirals of golden light appeared in the aether, bearing with them the Adept Rogue Skari and the Child of Twilight Lycoris.

"So you have come, Third Child, Child of Twilight," the Queen of the Dark intoned. "As you have been informed, the situation is dire. A nanoscale Angel, the same as hacked the MAGI and corrupted your simulation bodies, has made its way into the Sea of Data, where it has joined with AIDA. With the power of an Angel, the AIDA's own strength has increased tremendously—our one chance is to strike it now, before it has completely taken over The World."

Lycoris gave a small nod, looking to the Adept Rogue beside her for his response.

"How…did an Angel get into The World?" questioned Skari, puzzled as to how a titanic beast could have entered the network undetected.

"Through the MAGI," was the pithy response. "This Angel is unlike any that you have fought in the past—it has no true form that you may stop with an EVA, and currently it exists only as data within the network. Even so, should you wish to prevent all those connected to the network from becoming Lost Ones, you must fight. The risk to yourself will be grave, so I ask you, will you fight beside me, dothacker Skari?"

"I'll do it," the Adept Rogue replied, steel in his voice. "I don't want anyone to have to go through what I did...I won't let AIDA take anyone else! Even if I have to grind to a halt, even if I alone stumble, even so, I will fight."

Lycoris' hand gave Skari a reassuring squeeze, as four more golden spirals appeared, depositing a rather motley group on the central bridge of the Slums.

"Whoa…what is this place?" asked a bewildered Tribal Grappler, upon finding himself in the city of junk data and vagrant AIs. "I don't remember this being in the manual."

"This is…Net Slum," a diminutive jester-like Shadow Warlock breathed, eyes wide with awe. "The legendary paradise of hackers, ruled by…"

"Helba, Queen of the Dark," spoke the Sorceress in White, amused at the expression on Arano's face. "I see you have heard of me. It is good to see you have all arrived safely in…Paradise. How goes it in the fields, Morganna?"

"Tsukinoki," intoned the Sorceress in Black and former goddess of The World. "The corruption continues to spread rapidly…this group of three was already confronting an AIDA Monster when I arrived, though Tomoyami managed to defeat it. The data enhancement proved most effective, though not on the level of an Epitaph."

"Few things are," was the Queen of the Dark's reply. "Now for your briefing: dothackers Tomoyami, Skari, and Lycoris, Net Slum Tartarga is currently on route to the source of the AIDA explosion, which we have pinpointed to a field recreated from data lost in the first version of The World. Ironically, for the resting place of an Angel, it was once the home of the monster called 'The One Sin'."

"**Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel?**"asked Lycoris.

"Indeed," responded Tsukinoki, who managed a slight smile. "You should be familiar with it, Child of Twilight. Let it not be said that Angels do not have a sense of humor."

"Angels…as in the monsters that NERV was created to fight?" questioned Arano with a raised eyebrow, at the same time nervous and hyped up. "Are we going…to fight it?"

"Yes," voiced Morganna, leaving no room for protest. "You must, for if we do not, then millions of people around the world will become Lost Ones. Mr. Aida, I believe in one of your journal entries you mentioned you wished to be an EVA pilot, did you not? Well, you now have the chance to fight an Angel. Should you not be pleased?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to fight an Angel!" Arano crowed, looking around at his companions to see that no one else was quite as enthusiastic.

At least, Aruna wasn't until he recognized the other two dothackers, and his mind crawled to a halt.

"Lycoris? _Skari? _You two are dothackers?" the Tribal Grappler asked with incredulity, grabbing onto the Adept Rogue's robes and shaking him violently. "Man, why do you keep holding out on us?! First da babes, then—"

A gentle poke in his ribs was all he needed to revert to his nominally calm self.

"Huh…if Tomoyami fights, I'm going with her," he stated gruffly, trying to regain his lost sense of dignity. "I can't let a girl fight on her own."

"Touji…you know you don't have any special powers with which to fight, right?" the Flick Reaper asked hesitantly, touching the Tribal Grappler's arm almost gently for once. "You don't have anything that can protect you from the AIDA, like when we fought that monster earlier. You should stay here where it's safe."

"No," Aruna said firmly, tone unusually serious as he refused to give in. "You wouldn't have beat that monster without Arano and I helping you. We're da Invincible Perverts, right? Those monsters can't kill us. Besides, if we don't fight with you now, if you lose…"

He trailed off, unwilling to say anymore. If they lost, they would become Lost Ones anyway, so whether they fought or not did not really make much of a difference.

"Baka," Tomoyami muttered quietly, rolling her eyes in reaction to his display, yet smiling in spite of herself. "Fine, but stay on your bikes, alright? You, too Arano. Both of you can help me by distracting any present AIDA Monsters with your speed and surprise attacks, while I close and cut them down with my scythe."

"Sounds like a good strategy to me," Arano agreed, putting his stamp of approval on the idea, before going down on one knee before the Queen of the Dark. "So does this make us dothackers too, great lady Helba?"

"It does," replied the Sorceress in White, nodding in acquiescence. "Very well, analysis of the field has revealed the existence of AIDA Doppelgangers, three Spectrum Dragons, and the main body of the AIDA-Angel Iruel. Tomoyami, you and your friends will take out the AIDA Doppelgangers. Zelkova, you and Obsidian Knights are tasked with the Spectrum Dragon called 'The One Sin.' Skari and Lycoris will handle Spectrum Dragon 'God Eater', and I will eliminate Spectrum Dragon 'The One Death.' Morganna, you will assist the Azure Knights in defeating the main body of AIDA-Angel Iruel. Is this acceptable?"

Nods, and a chorus of "yes"es sounded from all around, as Net Slum Tartarga drew ever nearer to the insertion point, and the grim warriors prepared for a last, desperate battle, their thoughts private and kept to themselves.

'_To work with the Azure Knights…to have to face HIM again…'_

'_I won't let anyone down. No one else will become a Lost One today.'_

'_No matter what, Ikari-kun, I will protect you…'_

'_A terrible sound fills The World…'_

'_All we can do, is not run away…'_

'_Woohoo! I get to fight an Angel!'_

'_So the twilight begins anew…'_

From his vantage point on the bridge, Zelkova watched the assemblage of allies as below, a field broken and scarred by the Shadow drew into view. Its lands lay cracked and bleeding, with static or distorted graphics replacing the beauty of snowstorm, with here and there patches of shadow where AIDA creatures spawned. The work of Iruel had been swift in partially reconstructing a broken field from The World's memory, corrupting what had once been a place of memory with malice and woe.

And as the diminutive Flick Reaper surveyed the place which would soon become a battlefield, he remembered the Epitaph and recited what he felt to be appropriate lines:

"_The sky in the East doth darken and air doth fill with mourning. _

_From the chosen land beyond the forest, a sign of the wave comes."_


	38. Login 15b: Chains of Fate

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Chains of Fate**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel**

Numbing winds howled across the surface of the icy wastes of **Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel, **the field where the first legends of The World had formed, where the Descendants of Fianna had been named an age ago after destroying a powerful beast that kept imprisoned a fallen angel. Low-hanging mists obscured vision, as a blizzard raged on unabated in the dimming light of dusk, a living plague stripping away the veneer of illusion that kept reality in place.

From field's center rose a slender icy spire, upon which sat an evil-shaped form that could command absolute terror, a fusion of the unholy power of AIDA with a twisted angel fallen from the heavens, too massive to compare. From its seat of power, the creature watched over the field below, its great fortress and staging ground for its siege of the network. Already, many lands had fallen to its shadowy tendrils, the creatures there corrupted into new vassals for a jealous lord, seeking servants with which to deliver the final judgment.

And like any sensible creature, it had erected a defense system to keep unwanted intrusions out, sealing off gate-in access to its location by anything that was not linked to AIDA, with a number of anti-existences to eliminate anyone who did manage to bypass the gate. Among these "antibodies" were AIDA-infected Doppelgangers, Heaven's Dooms, Solid Eyes, and three Spectrum Dragons (these being The One Sin, God Eater, and The One Death, by power level), each of which protected the core of AIDA-Angel Iruel. Really, it was quite a comprehensive defense, and anyone appearing on the ground would have a difficult time fighting his or her way through to the central spire without being overwhelmed.

But like most tactical planners operating before the ascension of air power, Iruel had left one area largely unprotected: the sky. True, visibility was terrible, several AIDA(Helen) lurked in the air and anyone attempting to move through such terrible winds would likely have a difficult time of it, but then again, the probabilities of an enemy arriving via aerial insertion were slim at best.

Aside from the shrieking of the elements, all was silent for a time as the AIDA continued to spawn—until sounded A in the fifth octave, as three balls of molten light drifted lazily through the darkness, smashing to the ground with a shockwave of azure flame to reveal the Three Azure Knights, three copies of the legendary heroes of The World: R1 who served as an anti-intrusion device for Aura.

There was a pale, stitched-together version of Kite, leader of the dot-hackers, surrounded by azure flames. In his hands were dual swords of immense power, triple bladed weapons called "Empty Skies." Standing with him were feral versions of the two Descendants of Fianna, Orce of Azure Sea and Balmung of Azure Sky, wreathed in red and green, respectively. Both seemed…twisted, as this Balmung possessed stick-like wings and a demonic grin baring needle-like teeth to disturbing effect, armed with the wicked curved "Empty Mirage." Orca, the battle-scarred barbarian, had also been twisted, with this version of him given more armor and a more elaborate coat of body paint, while he wielded the powerful broadsword called "Empty Shadow."

Living memories of the leader of the dothackers, together with the duo who had conquered this field once in the past, they were the proof that belief equaled power.

They stood in the winds, snarling at the sight of such a large AIDA infestation, and as one, turned towards AIDA-Angel Iruel's main body, thinking that if they could destroy that, the other anomalies would be easier to deal with. Weapons at the ready, they charged—

As hexagons of orange light flared into being, barring their path, and in the distance, a monstrous chelonian form loomed ever closer, as mobile aerial fortress Net Slum Tartarga drew into range.

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

"We are approaching the coordinates, my queen," rumbled the great tortoise upon which Net Slum rested. "The Azure Knights are already active on the scene, but their attacks have triggered a barrier from Iruel's main vessel."

"AT field…" whispered Skari, as the hated orange hexagons came into view, the proof that the foe was an Angel. This time, he would have to fight without an EVA, but he had faith in the gift he had been given, in his blades, and in the girl who promised to protect him. "We have to neutralize the phase space!"

'_But how will we do that without an EVA's AT Field or a Positron Rifle with all the power in Japan?'_

"That barrier is on the order of Corbenik's Supreme Defense, though not quite as powerful as that," noted Morganna, her night-black dress flapping violently in the wind as she studied the obstacle before her. "Still, it will be extremely difficult to lower or erode by conventional means - though far from impossible to breach. For if an Absolute Terror field is maintained by the will of its creator, then I will simply have to nullify it. After all, I possess the power of Twilight in the form of an Epitaph! Come forth by my will, my Aberrant Key Tarvos! Come, forth...Avenger!"

At the Sorceress' words, a glowing pattern of runes and glowing glyphs of eyes encrusted her form, power made manifest in physical form, as a great flare of light arose and filled the surrounding space. To those who could see Avatar Space, golden rings of power shimmered into existence, condensing, coalescing into the winged form of a red and gold mechanical angel of battle, the false Epitaph modeled on Tarvos.

Unfolding its massive wings, the Morganna's False Avatar shot off into the night, intending to test the Will of Morganna against the will of a rogue Angel.

"Skari, summon your guardian," ordered the Harvest Cleric Tsukinoki, staff in hand as she surveyed the situation unfolding below. "You will ride it to your designated position, for the ground below has too many AIDA creatures to make a direct approach over land."

"Yes, ma'am," Skari acknowledged, the blue-haired Adept Rogue closing his eyes and focusing, clenching his fist as he mumbled under his breath. "Come on, I'm…right here, Twilight Guardian!"

The warbling cry of whale song signaled his success, as before him appeared the golden dumbbell monster that Morganna had gifted to him, its gelatinous surface ripping with the sound of its call. Summoning his blades, he flipped into the air and mounted the powerful beast, with Lycoris floating right beside him.

"You and Lycoris, proceed to the Spectrum Dragon God Eater and defeat it," she directed. "As Iruel's body seems to be spread over the entire field, even if its main core is on the mountain, the more of its creatures we defeat, the weaker the barrier will be. Zelkova, Obsidian Knights, to The One Sin. As for you, Tomoyami…"

"Yes?" the pigtailed girl asked expectantly, as she and her party were already mounted on their Steam Bikes, ready for deployment.

"Take to the field, using the bikes for hit and run tactics," the Sorceress in White commanded. "You will take out the AIDA Doppelgangers so they cannot come to the defense of the spectrum dragons, or the main core. Now go, and may the blessings of the Twilight Dragon be with you."

The others did as she ordered, heading off for their respective destinations, each determined to bring back victory. The odds were against them, but provided all went well, they should have a chance, particularly with the Azure Knights already on the scene. Now it was her turn.

Tsukinoki was about to send Net Slum Tartarga away and head off into the night, when the footfalls from behind caused her to whirl, instinctively bringing her staff to a guard position. This probably saved her life, as she intercepted a falling gunblade belonging to—

"_**Lei Zas!**_ No…it can't be," she whispered, catching sight of the ones who had dared invade her realm. "You…what are you doing here, Siarl of the Seven Eyes? And who is that Steam Gunner with you?"

The powerful Harvest Cleric hurled a wave of light at her enemies to buy herself some room, stepping back so that she could consider her next moves and what her foes' counters were likely to be.

Before her was a figure she had half-expected to show up, and another she had thought destroyed, since AIDA had corrupted the character data beyond recovery. The expected one was of course the black and silver robed Macabre Dancer Siarl of the Seven Eyes, who apparently commanded the other…an AIDA mirage of an entity thought long destroyed, now recreated as an AIDA creature with strange magic glyphs on her body, similar to…Iruel.

"Ah, Helba, Queen of the Dark, it is an honor to meet you at last," the silver-haired boy quipped with a cruel and arrogant smirk. "Although you are rumored to have a flair for the dramatic, I must confess that I did not expect for you to attack this place by air. By forcing an entry via data grid or Outer Dungeon, yes, but something like this…I commend you for your audacity. But I'm afraid I cannot allow your interference to continue, as I have other business to attend to. Melchior, eliminate the Mistress of Net Slum. She has become a hindrance to the scenario."

With that, the Macabre Dancer vanished from sight, leaving only the fallen Knight to face her former master. For the mirage was indeed a corrupted version of Melchior, whose light chain mail and robes had been replaced with spiky black and grey plate armor shot through with veins of red, while the appearance had also been changed, with pale gold eyes peering out from a face framed with white-blonde hair, and traceries of magic circuits inscribed over her form. But perhaps the greatest change was that this Steam Gunner was no longer an Obsidian Knight, although she was indeed cloaked in darkness…

_Clang! Thwack! _

Sword and staff, creator and created one, knight and queen, these two figures clashed in the middle of Net Slum, warring for dominance in an almost purely physical struggle that allowed no room for spells or bullets. Indeed, there would be no time for that, as Helba would need every bit of time and skill she could muster to counter the frenzied attacks of the corrupted AI.

"Tartarga, quickly, to another field," she called out, her first thought the protection of the denizens of Net Slum. The longer the giant turtle remained over this infested battlefield, the greater the chance more AIDA would come chasing after them, and all available defenses, dothackers and Azure Knights alike, had already been committed to the field. And while the denizens of the Slums could defend themselves in a pinch against most foes, Tsukinoki was far from certain that this would hold true against AIDA creatures as well, and so the Queen of the Dark would have to see to the defense of her city alone. After all, that was the duty of a Queen...

Taking advantage in her opponent's momentary lapse in focus, Steam Gunner Melchior lunged forward, swinging her gun-blade _once-twice-thrice-and a fourth _time to decapitate her creator and literally disarm her. But the attempt was rebuffed, her fierce strokes countered by equally fierce blocks from a staff, Helba holding her own against her fallen servitor as sounds of metal against metal rang out in the distance.

For long minutes, the battle raged - a contest that was inherently weighted to one side from the beginning. Helba's opponent was quicker, stronger, and had the advantage of class, after all, as well as enhancement by the Shadow, while Helba herself, though a skilled hacker, was only human. Still, no mortal would have been foolish enough to underestimate a hacker queen in her own domain, fighting with her back against the wall to protect something she cared about.

But then, Melchior wasn't mortal anymore, was she?

_Swish! Crunch!_

A hiss sounded in the air as a blade cut wind and nothing else, Helba having ducked low to avoid a slash aimed at her temple. But she did not escape unscathed, as her opponent anticipated this, swinging the butt of her weapon upwards, knocking the helm from the Sorcerer-Queen's head, revealing her face for the first time since a desperate battle against the Wave years ago.

_Whirr!_

The Sorceress spun her staff so to create a sort of shield, raising it for a blow—while simultaneously lashing out with her foot to attack temple and side, two vital points at once. But Melchior only smirked, blocking the staff and halting the kick with an armored hand, grabbing the outstretched leg and pulling the Harvest Cleric close for a killing blow.

Unbeknownst to her, the Steam Gunner had played right into Helba's hands.

"_**Suvi Lei!"**_ chanted the Queen of the Dark, naming the curse that would bind her opponent's hand and foot, giving her a momentary window to attack as she slashed at the fallen servant's neck with the sharpened end of her staff.

But the spell did not hold, for even as she cast it, the intricately glowing patterns on Melchior flashed, negating the effects of the magic, and the AIDA Mirage blocked with her gunblade once again, whirling it and stabbing point-blank at the Sorceress in White.

Desperately, Helba twisted her body to dodge it, avoiding most of the damage, but not all, as she was not fast enough to keep from taking a grazing slash wound to her side—one she winced at upon discovering she could feel, the pain registering acutely in her physical body.

"Heh, so you have discovered another effect of the Angel's hacking," Melchior noted impassively, bringing her weapon up for a finishing stroke to crush Helba's skull, one that was parried by a staff that swept towards her feet to trip her. But the corrupted AI easily avoided the attack. "Did you think me your equal, Queen of the Dark? Did you think yourself the equal of Naoko Akagi, the genius programmer? Your assumptions of your own skill were too high!"

This the fallen Knight whispered as she moved in a literal blur, the shadows wrapping around her as she relentlessly struck at her former master, with blade, with feet, with armored hands, and yet somehow, the Mistress of Net Slum held on, although her body took damage just from moving, her form becoming more stressed and strained with each moment the fight continued. Not only by effort of withstanding the physical blows, but by fatigue of intensive combat, and by the lances of AIDA being hurled at her, which her data encryption could only resist for so long.

_Dodge, weave, parry, block._

"Even if you can predict how I am going to strike, it is a matter of course for you to tire eventually, as you cannot expect to defeat my superior strength," the Steam Gunner sneered, cold amber eyes calculating the measure of the Sorceress in White. "You can oppose me all you wish, but you know you cannot win, for in the end you are…only human."

"As you were once!" the Sorceress in White countered, catching Melchior's gunblade on the smooth of her staff, and bringing the weapon down upon the AI's shoulder with every ounce of strength she had, with her efforts rewarded by the sound of a very satisfying _crunch_.

_Pow!_

While not quite as deadly as a sword, an armored fist to the face was definitely not something to take lightly, as Helba found out the hard way, her attempt to ward off the blow misguided as the gunner's blade swept in at her from the side.

"Damn, simple injury doesn't stop it," she muttered, bearing the pain by cursing and activating a copy of the Iruel self-destruction program as she cried out a spell's true name. _**"Rue Kruz!"**_

Once more the intricately glowing patterns on Melchior flared up to negate the magic-but that was exactly what Helba wanted, as she hurled her staff at her opponent during the period when she would be momentarily blinded by the flash of light, ordering "Program Activate!" Melchior instinctively parried the staff hurtling towards her with her blade, but the she made contact, arcs of electricity raced up the Steam Gunner's blade and into her form, forcibly burning off the enhancements of Iruel with a hiss and the acidic tang of seared flesh.

"What?" the rogue AI shrieked, feeling for the first time what it meant for pain of a thousand suns to be burned into her flesh. "How dare you...?"

Her icy control shattered, the fallen Knight screamed, loosing the feared spears of darkness that every AIDA-PC had at his or her disposal, knowing that Helba wouldn't be able to block them all.

But in the face of certain death...

"Hard to port!" the Queen of the Dark called out, focused as ever, though addressing something else entirely as she withdrew and tossed a second staff towards the mass of shadow, watching as the streamers of darkness lanced past them towards her defenseless-

"Detonate!"

Within the congealed mass of darkness, the staff exploded in a sphere of sparks and silver light so bright it was blinding, canceling the manifestation of AIDA weaponry with its static, while below them, the great turtle banked hard to port, tilting the battlefield so that with a slight nudge, either combatant might lose her balance.

Not even bothering to try and remain stable, Helba charged, barreling into the Steam Gunner with her shoulder and knocking both of them off the bridge, down the turtle's side, and out onto the open air, where the two grappled for dominance, even their freefalling forms whistled through the air, the hard stone of the Lost Ground **Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat**, Molasses Mansion Sif Berg fast coming up to meet them.

_Thud! Crash!_

Melchior won the grapple, forcing Helba to take the brunt of impact as they crashed onto the unyielding stone of the field below.

"Foolish!" the fallen Knight spat, seeing the broken body of the Queen of the Dark below her, seemingly dazed by the collision. "Did you really think that was enough to destroy me? You had no chance of victory to begin with!"

Down hurtled the gunblade to finish the pathetic excuse for a duel, closing in to pierce the heart, but somehow the Queen of the Dark rolled to the side and avoided it, recovering to her feet with yet another staff in hand, preparing for her adversary's next attack, her eyes grim with determination as her gravely wounded body fought just to stay standing, to ignore the agony she felt.

The dark figure moved, closing in on the white-clad sorceress in an instant, thrusting her AIDA-infused gunblade, but it is deflected once again. Flipping back, she poured the power of numerous spears of darkness into her weapon and lunged once again, this time smashing aside the intervening staff with pure brute power, the force of the blow sending Helba to the ground.

In the World, one is not supposed to bleed, but somehow, the virus corrupting the system was making the damage all too real, as the stones were stained red with pooling blood, a sure sign that things were turning for the worse, as the Sorceress in White knew that her body in The World had suffered too much abuse to go on for much longer. And given that she couldn't log out, that her mind was connected to The World by the angel's hacking, if she died here, she would become a Lost One - at best.

"This is it, Helba," the other crowed in triumph, savoring the moment when her former controller would be vanquished. "Your foolishness and audacity in attempting to fight the shadow, your manipulation and actions, your acceptance of this battle when you know you cannot defeat me, I who have been blessed by both AIDA and Iruel? Do you understand it? Do you understand how weak you truly are?"

The voice of Melchior echoed through the stone courtyard, resonating in Helba's bruised and battered form, deep in bones she was sure were broken. The Sorceress in White had few cards left to play, but her mind was telling her to resist, to go forward, even after having stumbled. For she could not give in, even if she was merely bluffing herself…for the sake of the denizens of Net Slum that she has sworn to protect, for the sake of the dothackers, and the World, she had to get up.

So she did, drawing out her last staff from inventory, the trusted weapon 8 Wise Men that had accompanied her in the time of the first dothackers, and attacking with it.

"_**Ani Zot! Lei Zas!**_" she croaked out, unsealing orbs of light and claws of darkness to attack her enemy, though the Steam Gunner merely leaped out of the way, avoiding the blows easily, swinging her blade to end the match—only to be blocked.

Melchior pushed forward with an endless barrage of blows, her strikes coming as relentlessly as waves crash against a rocky bluff, the difference in the characters' powers obvious. One was an AIDA Mirage, immune to fatigue, pain and other such, gifted with powers beyond any player - and infinite hit points, to boot. The other a hacked PC with max stats, but still ultimately human. In a matchup of strength vs strength, the AIDA Mirage would likely win every time.

"Do you really think you can protect these beings in Net Slum from the AIDA?" the fallen Knight continued, her sibilant voice taunting the Queen of the Dark. "You couldn't protect them in the End of the World. You couldn't protect the MAGI from being infected by Iruel. You couldn't even protect me from being destroyed by an AIDA-PC!"

For an instant, Helba's mind blanked from the words, but with her eyes she glared back at Melchior, meeting her gaze.

"I will protect them," she whispered fiercely, continuing to fight, continuing to block, to parry, to jab and lance out, "Above all else, I will protect them, even if I have failed in the past…as have you, Naoko, who murdered a helpless child because you could."

"What—?" the AIDA-PC's face went deathly pale as her form shook with rage. "How dare you…you who use children to fight for you, sending them to their deaths for your precious ideals!"

Enraged, Melchior attacked with her lances of shadow, pouring the weight of a world's contempt, anger, resentment into them to fuel her strike, an attack without elegance that comes smashing down remorselessly, executed only with brute strength to destroy the enemy before her.

The staff in Helba's hands flared with molten light as she spun it faster and faster in her hands, counterattacking even as a spear of AIDA impaled her, then another, then another. Against her opponent's ruthless power, she placed her trust in her skill at weaving protections from AIDA, for she could not retreat now, not when there was nowhere to run. Thus, she denied defeat with every last ounce of her strength, for to die here would be but a meaningless end, and so she raised her head in defiance, muttering _**"Pha Repth"**_, healing the non-data related damage.

Pain, terrible, shooting pain burnt through all her nerves, but there was something beyond anger in the way Melchior is striking at her, as if the Steam Gunner was striking at herself for a mistake she made long ago. She remembered Rei I, remembered how in the end her pride destroyed her, showed how hollow she really was, leading to her suicide. And yet, as a scientist, the fallen knight rationalized it, even as she struck once more, swinging her blade with superhuman might.

The Sorceress in White blocked the attack with her staff, managing to interpose the haft of her weapon with the cutting edge of her foe's - but she could not block the transfer of momentum, which flung her into the stone wall near the Chaos Gate with a sickening thud. But Helba simply got up once more, holding her ground, refusing to give an inch, even advancing as she weathered the storm of blades hurtling towards her, emptying herself of worry and letting her body flow to dodge and parry the attacks. For if the mind was trapped within The World, then one can turn that to become an advantage.

Mind over matter, she refused to fall, using the Smokescreen item to temporarily turn herself invisible to gain a bit of breathing room as she made ready, staff firmly in hand, preparing for the final encounter.

"I am Helba, Queen of the Dark…and this World is my home," she voiced, eyes blazing in the dimness as she stood every inch a queen, ignoring all wounds, all of the data threatening to seep from her body. "And though I send children to battle, I am willing to fight beside them. Can you say the same for you, Melchior?"

"What?" the AIDA-PC asked incredulously. "How can you still be…?"

Helba charged with blinding speed, even as her avatar began to splinter and flicker, data streaming off every one of her limbs, protections almost broken, pain wracking every bit of her…the Queen of the Dark, master of sorcery and ranged combat, standing toe to toe with a swordswoman intent on killing her.

Down swept the gun blade, up rises the staff, blocking, stabbing, opening up the defenses for a blow to the face, leg, arm, side, with a frenetic strength greater than before.

'_Where is this power coming from? She is only human!'_

Yet Melchior knew that could not make light of her enemy anymore, not in this state, and so launched a killing blow for the neck with all her might—but the blade was caught in the floating rings of the staff, caught and—

_Crack!_

With a twist, shattered, leaving only a broken weapon behind.

'_Has she turned her own character into an anti-AIDA virus?'_

The Steam Gunner had underestimated her opponent, it seemed, drawing another bayonet from inventory and a sword made of pure AIDA to counter her opponent's single weapon. Surely, the Harvest Cleric could in no way deal with a dual-wielder.

Weapons crashed together in space filled with sparks, a killing zone created from thrust, parry, riposte, remise, where anything entering would be cut to pieces by nigh infinite corruption. Yet even against the full power of AIDA infused in a blade, the staff 8 Wise Men endured, even striking back and almost breaking yet another weapon.

"I am the Mistress of Net Slum, and I will not lose!" the Queen of the Dark resolved, launching another volley of attacks, with her opponent now the desperate one. She would not allow another Twilight Incident to occur, even if it meant if her own destruction. Repelling an AIDA blade and getting back into stance, she bid the enemy come on with an unwavering gaze.

Both charged and—

_Squelch!_

With a last gasp, the two skewered each other, one with the pointed end of a staff, the other with an AIDA-infused weapon, making no attempt at defense.

"Looks like you lose after all, Helba," Melchior panted smugly. "After all, I can regenerate from this while—"

"Detonate!"

A howl of anguish burst from Melchior's maw, as the staff jammed through her spine erupted in a runaway cascade reaction that built upon itself over and over and over, searing, rending, blighting, cleansing the field with the light of a thousand suns.

* * *

**Avatar Space, Morganna POV**

For the first time since she had become human, and returned to The World, Morganna felt aspects of her old power returning to her, at least the equivalent of 1/8 of her original strength, as an Avatar was first and fundamentally an expression of her power. True, the particular Epitaph she was using was one that had been created as a replacement for the stolen Tarvos by a genius programmer who would have made himself a god, but in some ways the irregularity of it suited her.

In any case, possessing the form of a red and gold mechanical angel of battle was pleasing to her, and the former goddess of The World did appreciate the irony involved in her summoning a being of this sort to oppose an invading Angel. With her winged form floating in the empty expanse of Avatar Space, she could see the main body of AIDA-Angel Iruel quite clearly, as well as the irritating barrier it had erected.

'_The AT Field is the will of the soul is it? Well, it is the Will of Morganna that controls the network…I shall crush that shield like tissue paper! Or perhaps…'_

Swiftly, she charged up two large energy orbs with which to crush the soul barrier, loosing her _"__**Orb of Revenge" **_as soon as it was ready_**—**_only to see the orbs slashed and thrown back towards her by a titanic veiled and vaguely catlike being clad in a dress like the petals of an over-sized rose, with a mass of living shadow oozing its chest and from the player floating before it.

'_Avatar Macha: the Temptress…in every generation, you betray me,'_ the former goddess thought bitterly, remembering at least two other betrayals—when Macha as the cat player had stopped her guardians from recapturing Tsukasa, and when Macha as Mia had taught the Bearer of the Bracelet about the techniques of gate-hacking. _'And a copy of said Bearer of the Bracelet is here as well…'_

"So…Macha betrays me yet again," she intoned calmly, almost as if expecting it. "But then, that is why you wanted Endrance eliminated, right? So that his Avatar would flee to find another host, namely you, Siarl?"

"I see you understand you me well," the black and silver clad Macabre Dancer said with a smirk. "But then, you too were one who sought freedom, even if you did not gain it. That is the paradox of existence, is it not, that the more one struggles against fate, the closer one comes to achieving it. At least that it what the Greeks believed, and their philosophy is some of the most interesting of the Lilim."

He quietly performed a "_**Variant Summon"**__, _spawning several small AIDA around him to support him in battle, to which Morganna replied with "_**Energy Dart"**_, firing a cluster of needle-like energy shots out from each of _False Tarvos'_ two wings, ripping apart the little AIDA before they could attack with Algol Laser.

"Why are you doing this, Tabris?" the former goddess asked, wanting to know his motives before she joined battle with him. A duel of avatars had not been part of the plan, but if it was necessary—then she had to do it. "Will you step aside, or are you on Iruel's side?"

The Macabre Dancer only laughed.

"You should know better than anyone else, Morganna," he replied. "I am on no one's side but my own, and your interference here is an undesirable factor."

Avatar Macha swiftly sliced the air with her claws, tossing off first four rings of light, and then another, casting a minor distraction as Siarl's hands rose, invoking the _**"Bolt of Love" **_technique as a glow overtook him with a whistling sound. Before him bloomed a giant rose, petals unfurling in the unnatural light of the bounded space, a deadly one if left unchecked.

Morganna, just looked on, amused, as the great rose issued four satellite blooms, each of which twisted to face her winged form and discharged spears of crystallized light—to no effect, as she brought her wings together to shield herself—all the while continuing to release "_**Energy Darts**_" and a small orb at her enemy, one easily missed amidst the chaos.

"Using _**Invincible Shield? **_How clever," Siarl commented, as evading the darts even as _Avatar Macha's_ barreled towards the _False Avatar_ to slash it with her claws. "But even your shield is not—AUGH!"

In his arrogance, the Macabre Dancer fell right into the _False Avatar's_ trap, as the winged angel of battle teleported out of the way, leaving _Macha _to crash into a small orb she left in her place.

"_**Will of the World!" **_chanted Morganna, as her delayed attack unsealed massive amounts of raw magical energy in a focused explosion, a shaped detonation contained and amplified solely around _Avatar Macha_. And while her opponent was otherwise, she activated _**"Stake of Death",**_ launching nine crystallized energy spikes at her opponent.

_Avatar Macha _broke out of the explosion just in time to see the energy needles headed towards him, managing to bat most of them out of the way with her paws, even as she returned the favor, hurling energy rings at the massive _False Avatar._

Those, too, were easily dodged, with Morganna teleporting behind the cat avatar, and blasting forth volley upon volley of needle like energy shots out from its two wings, catching _Avatar Macha _in the back and hurling her against the wall of Avatar space, even as the remaining needles from earlier smashed into _Macha, _now unavoidable.

"I possess the Avatar of one who wished to be God," the former goddess coolly noted, regarding her stricken enemy with a measure of contempt. "And yet you challenge me? Do you believe you can defeat me alone?"

"Who said I was alone when we fight above an AIDA spawning ground?" the other asked, form black with the pulse of corruption. "_**Variant summon**_, _AIDA(Helen)_!"

And two translucent fish of gargantuan proportions phased into being in Avatar space, as Siarl laughed.

**

* * *

**

**Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel**

Clawed shadowy hands shot with supersonic speed towards a hapless Adept Rogue, only to be deflected by metallic tendrils from a dumbbell-shaped Twilight Guardian, the aggressive defense keeping the AIDA within the Spectrum Dragon God Eater from simply using its power to eliminate both of the ones attacking it.

"Alright, _**Ghost Falcon!" **_Skari snarled, snatching up his blades_, _leaping into the air and delivering a torrent of slashes that tore into the flesh of the unprotected monster. Well, perhaps not undefended…it's life force and damage potential were both extremely high, and as only one elemental attack might work on it at a time—that and, being an AIDA Monster, it effectively had infinite endurance.

"_**Loving Boomerang Hook!" **_cried the small silver-haired girl besides him, her fists pummeling the unyielding scales of the terrible creature before them, apparently doing some damage, as the creature roared out in pain.

"_**Sword Dance!"**_ the Adept Rogue called out, his technique a beautiful spiral of death that rained heavy blows on the monstrous Spectrum Dragon, just before it sent him reeling with a gout of fire pouring from its mouth, lumbering forward and nearly crushing him with one of its claws before he could dodge out of the way. In the legends of The World: R2, this creature has been a weapon that mankind turned against the Gods…having to battle it, Skari could see why.

'_This thing is like an EVA_ _in power_...'

"_**Repth!" **_ he heard, as a golden glow surrounded him and healed him of some damage. The source of the spell? The Child of Twilight, sister to the Goddess of The World, who struck at the AIDA Dragon relentlessly, a true flower of the battlefield. His blades in hand once more, he cried out,

"_**Chaotic Strike!"**_

Back on his feet, he launched another strike against the evil-shaped one too massive to compare, an effort seemingly futile, as it was taking no damage.

_'But then, I trust Lycoris_, _and we're not aiming to do damage right away, just to wear down its data shield...'_

"_**Palm Blast!" **_The blue-haired boy and silver-haired girl were vulnerable to the creature's attacks, as it was not to theirs, so why—

A tinkling sound was heard, as a shell of blue light shattered around the hideous monstrosity, with three words flashing above its head.

"_Protect Break OK!"_

The dragon roared in anger, loosing spells of ice and fire towards its assailants, missing both, as they nimbly retreated beyond its immediate attack range, the Twilight Guardian pulling back with them for defense. Then the girl in red lifted her right arm, as three crimson petals of data flickered into existence around a now-visible bracelet, a terrible light gathering in her hand, then flaring outwards towards the God Eater.

"_**DATA DRAIN!"**_ she cried, the power of the twilight gods ripping apart the AIDA within the beast, leaving the remnant but a much weakened shell of its former self. Staring it down, she fell back into aggressive stance. "Now, let's finish this…_**Loving**_ _**Boomerang Hook!"**_

With a final attack, the girl in red literally flew forward, fists glowing with divine might as she destroyed the unholy living weapon with a single blow. Upon the completion of battle, she sighed in relief, smiling at Skari as—

"_**Shell Breaker!"**_

So shouted a quickly descending voice from above, as the AIDA-PC Eris, Bringer of Strife, hurtled out of blinding snowstorm, descending upon the Twilight Guardian.

"Watch out! Data drain her!" Skari ordered, as the dumbbell monster countered the attack with metallic tendrils launched a moment too late, as the terrible AIDA-Infected broadsword of a Chaotic PK bisected the Twilight Guardian, cleaving apart the bracelet in its center and defeating the monster once and for all.

"Now that that's out of the way, Dark Evangel, why don't we have a little fun?" she grinned maniacally, none of her original form remaining as she had sacrificed it all in her lust for power. "Without your guardian, there's no way you can stop this…_**Tiger Strike!"**_

She charged as swiftly as the plague-borne winds, an unstoppable force directed towards her blue-haired foe, swinging her sword to decapitate when—

"_**DATA DRAIN!"**_

Once again, the terrible light of divine power flared into existence, halting the charge with the force of a thousand hooks digging into her very soul, the Bringer of Strife enduring terrible pain until it ended. Since she had not been protect broken, the AIDA had not been drained from her, even if it had been damaged…instead, she was merely wounded, bile and fury rising in the depths of her heart.

"You…" Eris snarled, face twisting with rage as the silver-haired Lycoris strode out of the concealing elements, "You…traitor. I thought you were my friend, and you do this? I'm sorry I ever trusted you!_**"**_

The Child of Twilight flinched, but met the Edge Punisher's gaze evenly, her gaze containing both sorrow…and pity.

"Stop this, Asuka," she pleaded to the demonic AIDA-PC, "You don't know what's happening to you...let me help you! Let me free you from this curse of AIDA infection!"

"Help me? _Help me?_" Eris shrieked while laughing maniacally, "I don't need your so-called _help, you little backstabbing doll._ You just want to take away my hard-won power, take away my strength, all for the glory of that bastard Invincible Shinji! _**Tiger Blitz!"**_

With the might of rage and fear fueling the true power of AIDA, a wave of endless shadow shot forth from her, lancing with deadly precision towards her target even as she charged forth, swinging her sword with a might meant to destroy her enemy once and for all. Had she attempted to strike the silver-haired girl directly, she would have failed, so instead, she struck at the being she most hated, the one who had stolen everything from her: Adept Rogue Skari.

"NOOOO!" tore a cry from Lycoris' throat as she moved, quicker than the eye could see.

Shadow and sword tore into unarmored flesh, as the Child of Twilight defended her lover with her very body, taking the blow meant for him before Skari's shocked eyes. And for a moment, the golden eyes of a goddess met the purple of a corrupted demon.

"You…" Eris whispered in horror, the killing rage draining from her as she saw who her attack had hurt. "Why did you…"

"I will not relinquish my fate to you," the silver-haired girl gasped, pulling her arm back, "nor has Skari ever hurt you so…so leave him alone… _**Loving Boomerang Hook!"**_

With a sharp crack, Lycoris struck her former friend, using all the strength remaining in her body to send the Edge Punisher flying. Then her body gave out, with the Child of Twilight collapsing to the AIDA infested ground, breath ragged, barely able to move. For even the heavy data encryption on her character could only protect her for so long in the face of such a brutal onslaught, and she had spent the last of her power to counter-attack instead of trying to stabilize herself.

"REIMEIKI-CHAN!" cried Skari, rushing to kneel by her side. Her form was fast fading, fast becoming transparent, with traces of data evaporating from her body. Once bright golden eyes had dulled, and the exuberant energy she had always possessed was nearly gone.

Weakly, the silver-haired girl reached up, fingers just barely reaching Skari's cheek, as the Adept Rogue held her hand there with his.

"Shinji-kun…" she whispered, struggling for breath. "I…I don't have much time. Consciousness fading, corruption spre…can't hold on much longer, but take…this…"

On her chest appeared a strange book, bound in leather and embossed with the form of spider lily and infinity symbol. Hesitantly, the blue-haired boy reached out and touched it, adding the "Book of Twilight" and "etaf . cyl" to his inventory.

"Reimeiki…I…" he began, tears in his eyes, but Lycoris cut him off with a finger to his lips.

"The power…salvation…destruction…Twilight Bracelet…" she gasped, a last spasm wracking her body as the end drew near. "Bring back…Lost…Shinji-kun…I love…"

But the Child of Twilightwould not be able to finish her sentence, as her form splintered, shattering like crystal carelessly dashed upon a rocky floor, as several orbs of red light shot into the sky and faded quickly from view.

"No…wait…you can't...wait...Reimeiki…REIMEIKI!" Skari screamed in rage against the heavens, shaking with the mingled grief and pain that drove him to berserk states of frenzy when in EVA.

"My my, how touching," a figure spat from out of the howling winds, stepping forward to reveal once more the demonic form of Eris, cloaked in shadow as thick as the blackest pitch, her tone once more laced with cruelty and malice. "Not so invincible after all, are you, baka Shinji? Always relying on someone else and surviving, then claiming the credit. So what now? Since she sacrificed herself for you, I guess you're the great hero, eh? The only survivor, left to run away…."

The Edge Punisher smiled then, a Cheshire grin distorting her features as she saw how the Adept Rogue was looking at her, maddened, his weapons in hand as he rushed forward, giving no thought to technique, to reason, surrendering all for the sake of pure power to defeat his hated foe.

'_That's right…attack me…and know your doom, Third Child!' _

Eris may not have been very good at interacting with people, but among the things she could do very well were inciting feelings of rage, grief, fear, and those sorts of baser emotions. In fact, she found it almost pathetically easy to enrage someone else, to cause them to attack without thinking—this she knew, having seen the Third Child in action before.

"You heartless bitch! I'll kill you...Asuka Langley Soryu!" Skari roared with fury, twin blades flashing up down left right, slashing, whirring, stabbing—all deflected with contemptuous ease as Eris kicked him viciously in the gut, smashing him in the head with the pommel of her sword, sending him sprawling.

"How pathetic. You're nothing without EVA…just another weakling," the Edge Punisher gloated as she strode over to his fallen form, raising her broadsword for a coup de grâce. "I gave you a chance to run, but you just blindly rushed at me, a slave to your emotions. Goodbye…Third Child!"

Down plunged the shadowed blade, singing as it cut the air towards the Adept Rogue's neck—only to be unexpectedly halted as a cross shaped blast sent both the would-be PK and victim flying, the Spectrum Dragon "The One Death" lumbering into view.

In disbelief, Eris stared at the monstrous form of the creature, noting that it had managed to damage her and that it too was infected with AIDA.

"Tch. How troublesome…more interference," the AIDA-PC harrumphed, putting away her broadsword and stepping away from the area. "Well then, if the monster doesn't kill you, I'll deal with you another time, Third."

A golden spiral of light shimmered into existence, bearing the Chaotic PK to a place of sanctuary which undoubtedly contained potential victims uncontested by powerful creatures born of void.

_Rumble-rumble-crash!_

The ground shook as footfalls of great wyrm called The One Death drew ever closer to the fallen Adept Rogue, its each and every limb powerful enough to crush a player in one strike, but Skari just lay there, unable, or perhaps simply unwilling to move, his meager strength having been exhausted in his bout of interrupted berserker fury.

'_I failed…I couldn't stop Eris. I couldn't protect Reimeiki…maybe I should just die. After all, that's one way to see things to the end, right? This AIDA Monster is going to crush me anyway, and I don't have the power to resist at all…not with Reimeiki gone, and the Guardian destroyed. All I have is this book…'_

The Book of Twilight materialized in his hand as the great beast drew near, charging up a fiery blast to annihilate the little pest once and for all—but just as the attack was launched, Skari heard a metallic c_lang! _behind him, shadows rushing past—and then The One Death fell to pieces, with a strange three-edged marking etched into the earth beneath its remains.

Cursing weakly, Skari looked over to see who it was that had saved him, noting the presence of a metal cylinder laying on the ground, next to which stood a tall steam gunner dressed in mostly in blue and white, with traces of leather scattered through his outfit, a long, flowing scarf—and a huge claw of AIDA extending from his back.

'_But why…AIDA…'_

The mysterious figure strode over to him, as calm and unconcerned as if this had been a root town instead of a raging battlefield, rife with the carnage of slaughters past and present, the faint light above glinting off his orange sunglasses as he looked over the boy, his gaze resting on the Book of Twilight in his right hand.

"Do you wish for the power to bring back the Lost Ones?" the man asked gently, placing in Skari's left hand an orb of darkness glowing with inner power. "Then consume your emotions, and surpass your limits, Dark Evangel."

With those parting words, the man vanished into the snowstorm, disappearing as quickly as he had arrived.

'_Power…to bring back the Lost Ones,' _Skari thought, looking between the Book of Twilight and the glowing seed in his hands. _'The power to stop Eris, to bring back Reimeiki and Ayanami…to take fate into my hands and forge a miracle.'_

He looked between them as he lay there weeping, then clutched the items tightly and, taking a deep and shuddering breath, made his choice.

A scream of pain, and then a pillar of azure fire shot into the sky.

* * *

**Avatar Space, Morganna POV**

A fierce battle continued to rage in Avatar Space, with Morganna's _False Avatar _warring against Siarl's _Avatar Macha _and two _AIDA(Helen)_ that he had summoned. While individually, each one should have been a moderately difficult foe at best, three enemies attacking simultaneously could be quite…troublesome, in the words of the wavemaster Tsukasa.

'_Of the opponents, the greatest threat is Macha,_ _but I cannot afford to ignore the damage done by the fish-like AIDA either!'_

She junked and dodged, weaving to dodge the hail of energy bolts from "_**Prolog Laser**_"s and "_**Bolts of Love**_", beginning to tire of this game of cat and mouse. Avoiding battle would only work for so long, and Morganna did not exactly enjoy being harried to and fro by an opponent. Now, the first rule of blitzkrieg combat was to do the unexpected, which in this case meant pulling a Crazy Ivan (in the language of submariners, this means rushing towards an incoming torpedo to confuse its ranging gear…a tactic sometimes used by the old Soviet Navy).

Analyzing the situation, she could see the strategy inherent in her opponent's positioning. The _AIDA(Helen)_s had been deployed forward of _Avatar Macha_, so that any attempt to reach the cat must first come through a gauntlet of lasers, stunning any approaching enemy long enough for _Macha _to launch an attack.

'_Unless…'_

"_**Invincible Shield!"**_ Morganna called out, bringing her Avatar's wings together as a shield, flying recklessly towards the gap in the enemy ranks that would lead her to the traitor _Macha._

Siarl smirked at the sight of his fearsome opponent tossing aside strategy to get at him. Perhaps she had something of a grudge against the cat-avatar he currently wielded? In any case, he summoned to him a storm of rose petals to surround him with _**"Bewitching Wind"**_ as he counter-charged, waiting for the _False Avatar_ to get in range of the—

Broadsides of _**"Prolog Laser"**_ lanced out from the _AIDA(Helen)s _as the False Avatar barreled between them, focused only on the one called Macha flying towards her. In the instant before the three attacks could hit, two things happened: 1) the _False Avatar_ teleported away, leaving _Macha_ and the _AIDA(Helen)s _to be raked by the crossfire of their own attacks; and 2) Morganna loosed two _**"Orb of Revenge"**_ attacks at point blank range, the orbs slamming into the _AIDA(Helen)_s and stunning them temporarily.

And then—

"_**DATA HEART!"**_ The wings of the mechanical Angel flared open to maximum extension, surrounding the powerful energy cannon generated from the spike. Three bolts of crackling data shot out, landing on _Avatar Macha_ and the two AIDA, as streams of data were ripped from each one, wiping the AIDA(Helen) from existence.

_Avatar Macha,_ however, though weakened, was not destroyed.

"An impressive show of force, though you didn't manage to protect break me, it seems," Siarl commented in the aftermath of the devastating blow. "In any case, I have fulfilled my objective in delaying you from your task. Until we meet again, adieu."

Saying thus, the form of _Macha _vanished into motes of light, as the black and silver Macabre Dancer disappeared from Avatar Space, leaving Morganna to her purpose of defeating the AT Field.

"_**Will of the World!" **_she murmured intently, flinging a ball of light towards the glowing hexagonal barrier.

* * *

**Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel**

Zelkova and the Obsidian Knights stood triumphant over their assigned Spectrum Dragon: "The One Sin," having dispatched it quickly, without any interference by outside parties. Given that his team was perhaps the most experienced when it came to dealing with AIDA, this came as no real surprise—it would have been a larger one had they failed. So far, everything seemed to be going well, yet, in the core of his programming, the heir to Net Slum could sense that something was terribly wrong.

The signs were clear: though weakening, the AT field still stood, when it should have been neutralized long ago by a combination of the Azure Knights' data manipulation abilities and Morganna's Avatar; in the distance, a huge pillar of fire had erupted from the ground, bright enough to sear away vision for a few precious moments; and worst of all, Net Slum Tartarga was nowhere to be seen.

'_It seems the plan has gone awry…'_

He had attempted to contact Helba, Lycoris, Skari, or Morganna to no avail, beginning to despair when

Tomoyami of the Shadow had reported in. Her team's mission to distract and counter the AIDA Doppelgangers had been successful, though they too had noted the portentous signs around them. Since they were the fastest units Zelkova had available, he had dispatched them to find out what had happened at the sight of the pillar of fire, with orders to rendezvous with the Knights as soon as they did.

And so the diminutive Flick Reaper stood waiting, red and gold Goddess Scythe in hand as he kept watch for signs of any rampaging AIDA Monsters, or any other disturbances save for the sound of steam bikes racing towards his position.

But there was nothing, with the only sound being the call of the raving wind as it tore at his clothing, attempting to trip him, knock him over, and make him lose his footing. This place truly was a frozen wasteland, perfect as a fortress for the creature on its spire of ice, but unsuitable for anything other uses.

_Vrooom! Vrooom!_

A trio of bikers raced towards the watchful Zelkova at flank speed, with something—no someone, draped over the back of one of the vehicles. Catching sight of the Flick Reaper, they swerved just in time to avoid him, as Tomoyami dismounted from her metal steed, revealing the stricken man they had been carrying with them.

'_Skari, the Dark Evangel.'_

"What of the Child of Twilight, Lycoris?" he asked, suppressing panic from his voice. '_If the flare came from Skari, and_ _Lycoris was not present…could this mean…the sister of the Goddess was taken by AIDA?' _"Was she there as well?"

"I didn't see her," Tomoyami reported, looking down. She too, understood what this might mean, after Lycoris had shared with her some details about her past. "And I don't think she would leave Skari alone like that. However, I did see a tri-edged symbol in the ground near his body. Do you think…?"

A ping sounded in indicating the arrival of a flash mail. It was from Morganna, and contained but one line: _"Abandon the field."_

The trio fell mute in shock.

"Something did happen," Zelkova murmured, surprised at the contents of the message. "I think Morganna wants us to leave this to her—we've done all we can. I bestow this unto you."

_Whirr!_ A spiral of hazy purple light briefly flickered into existence around the present characters and vanished, marking the transfer of a program.

"What's—?"

"This program will allow you to perform Area Hacking," the small Flick Reaper explained. "Net Slum Tartarga is nowhere to be seen, and even it was, it is not safe for the great turtle to land here. As we cannot gate out, not being of AIDA, and we do not have an alternative, we will use the present data anomalies to access the Outer Dungeons, a place outside The World. Follow my instructions precisely."

Obeying, they each found a data anomaly and activated the Area Hacking function, shunning the field broken by Wave, fleeing to a place not entirely of The World.

* * *

**Avatar Space**

With a final exertion of her will, Morganna shattered the AT Field surrounding AIDA-Angel Iruel's core, as three familiar but twisted forms floated up beside her, rushing at the Angel. These three would serve as her allies for this final battle, even though in another time and place, they had opposed her, and might one day do so again.

The Three Azure Knights, servants of her daughter Aura: Azure Kite, Azure Balmung, and Azure Orca, the former appearing in his Azure Flame God form, while the other two were much as she remembered.

'_I suppose not even Aura has a perfect memory, despite having ascended to a higher state of being,' _she mused silently, noting how appropriate Azure Kite seemed to be as a figure of her own nightmares. _'A relentless revenant tasked to destroy anomaly with the Twilight Bracelet…that is the image I remember from my dreams.'_

"As much as I may personally dislike you, Kite," whispered the Sorceress in Black, "your resolve is admirable…after all, you did end me once long ago."

Then she too charged into battle, launching a flurry of energy darts at the form which so resembled the original World's One Sin, the three-headed dragon Lucifer bound within Cocytus, Ninth Level of Hell.

_AIDA(Helen)_s and _AIDA(Gatekeeper)_s broke through the barrier of Avatar Space as if to intercept the Epitaph-PC, but were destroyed as soon as they appeared by Azure Orca & Azure Balmung, swinging their swords Empty Mirage and Empty Shadow to cleave apart the monsters as they came. Destroying the base forms of AIDA was their specialty, after all.

This left Morganna floating in the aether besides the Azure Flame God, a figure which was essentially the dothacker Kite, but bearing immense metallic wings behind him, wreathed (true to his name) in azure fire.

He yelled a wordless cry as performed _**"Azure Tiger Claws"**_, crossing his distinctive Empty Skies in front of him defensively, then tossing 6 copies of them towards Iruel. But the Angel would not be so easily defeated, engaging a second barrier "_**Corruption Storm**_", a swirling whirlwind of shadow that could block shots and harm opponents if they approached.

The weapons arced towards the misshapen Angel's shields and were deflected, as it unleashed a trio of cross shaped blasts, hounding the _Azure Flame God _with "_**Crucifix Mirage."**_

But even an Angel could only focus on one opponent at a time, so Morganna took the opportunity to approach it, teleporting into the eye of the corruption storm, and firing a point blank _**"Will of the World" **_attack, a sphere of magic that bound Iruel up in a massive explosion, shocking it into lowering its barrier.

Taking advantage of this momentary opening, the _Azure Flame God_ rushed in and physically grabbed the tri-headed Iruel, launching both of them high into the air, then tossing the Angel of Terror through abyss of blue fire. This, of course, was his special move, "_**Azure Wildflower,"**_ able to deal heavy damage to an unwary (or stunned) opponent.

The Angel was incensed, having taken so much damage, and it roared in fury, loosing both _**"Celestial Wrath" **_and _**"Nanite Plague"**_, firing a massive bolt of energy high into the air, to rain down upon the surrounding area as myriad cross-flares, along with releasing a horde of AIDA towards Azure Kite.

_False Avatar_ countered by bringing up her _**"Invincible Shield"**_ as _Azure Flame God _slashed apart the AIDA storm, gathering azure fire into his hands and blasting it into one of the dragons' three maws, causing the attack to cease.

One-two-three cross shaped flares impacted Morganna, breaking through her defenses as the dragon reared and lunged, hurling at her "_**11 Seeds of Despair"**_, time bombs that if left unchecked, would encircle her and detonate.

"_**Stake of Death"**_ she cried, launching nine crystal shards of light to counter the 11 seeds, annihilating each other in a one-to-one ratio. The two remaining bombs homed in—but then were sliced apart by the Descendants of Fianna.

A nod of gratitude, as the _False Avatar_ teleported once again, switching back in attack form and using her _"__**Orb of Revenge" **_technique, the twin orbs of light sending the dragon reeling, smashing into the wall of Avatar Space, as the _Azure Flame God _supplemented that strike with another application of "_**Azure Tiger Claws,"**_ bringing up the much desired "Protect Break OK" they had been searching for.

Desperately, AIDA-Angel Iruel attacked, hurling forth many "_**Nanite Plagues"**_ and launching another "_**Celestial Wrath" **_in an attempt to ward off the inevitable.

But Azure Orca and Azure Balmung once again rushed in like twin falcons, their blades decimating (and more) as they struck, slicing apart the plague winds of shadow with the power of an empty void.

And as their protectors dealt with these attacks, _Azure Flame God_ and _False Avatar _prepared their mightiest attacks, with the stylized symbolic wings of the Azure Flame shifting to become the 6 sepals of the Twilight Bracelet's unsealed form, while the mechanical angel of battle merely flared her own to maximum extension, hexagons of data clustering on them to surround the Eye of Morganna.

As one they launched twin bolts of crackling data, the tracer round for the ultimate technique: _**"Data Drain!"**_

Both impacted, penetrating to the Angel's core and parasitically sucking away its vitality, ripping apart the very information that gave the creature shape as it howled and shook futilely, innumerable streams of data torn and shredded from its form, with the great orb of Data Drain growing smaller, smaller, smaller, and vanishing as Iruel screamed its last.

With that, Avatar Space collapsed, both Morganna and Azure Kite returning to their normal forms, with the former goddess giving her old enemy a brief nod before warping out.

Seeing as AIDA-Angel Iruel was no longer around to stabilize the field of corrupted data, Azure Kite raised his hand into the air, the Twilight Bracelet once again taking form as the Knight of Aura finished the infestation by deleting the field itself with _**Drain Heart**_.


	39. Login 16: Abrupt Invisible Alastor

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Abrupt Invisible Damnation Alastor**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Undisclosed Location**

He awoke within a sea of white, his body broken, wracked with pain. Around him was spread a vast plain of nothingness, an infinite expanse of white unbounded even by the sky—a place of endings and beginnings, the place within where legends birth themselves: the throne of souls. The air was still and heavy, filled to the brim with the same brooding silence that he was so familiar with, as here and there possibilities flickered in and out of existence with the ease of thought. Where winds had howled promises of woe, the world was mute, soundless, boundless, timeless, and eternal.

'_Where am I?' _he asked himself, staring up at what seemed to be yet another unfamiliar ceiling._ 'What happened—' _

And then he remembered everything. The battle against the God Eater, Eris' deeds and angry words, Lycoris falling to the Bringer of Strife's blade, a book of twilight and a shadowed orb. A pillar of azure fire, and then…he found himself here, in this great expanse.

'_I was in a place like this before…and to be here again…I've failed,' _he mused, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes_. 'I guess it was all a waste after all—ouch!'_

A sharp pain shot through his side as someone prodded him-none too gently-with an armored boot.

"Get up. You don't have time to be depressed," a voice commented from above, as he felt another kick in his wounded side. "Didn't you say you'd see things through? Then get up, unless you're too afraid. I can understand if you don't since you're weak and self-deceiving, but didn't you say you wouldn't run away anymore?"

At the sound of the all-too-familiar voice, the Third Child gritted his teeth and strained his wounded body, putting power into his arms and legs to force his unresponsive muscles to bring him to a standing position. Nothing at first, but then with a metallic creak, it began to react, letting him get up onto one knee, though the pain nearly made him collapse again. Wincing, he forced everything from his mind and continued, focusing every ounce of strength left in him into his legs, knowing that as long as his heart still beat, he could keep on fighting—and with a last groan of effort, he rose to his feet, facing his critic head on.

"Well done," the other said scornfully, that other being an Adept Rogue with long silver-blue hair, crimson eyes, pale skin, and charcoal-gray robes draped over a coat of dark chain mail. "I'm surprised. You actually managed to get up. So now what? What can you do now, in this place?"

Compared to this undamaged alter-ego, Shinji's clothes and body were tattered, torn, and seared, but still he stood, unwilling to run from himself.

"The self within the self," he murmured in recognition, the dream-like conversation he had had with this particular individual on the shore of a post-apocalyptic wasteland coming to mind. "So what is this place?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the other asked sarcastically. "We're inside your mind. I'd comment on the fact that it's an unfamiliar ceiling, but that's your line. Shinji Ikari, the Slayer of Angels, the mighty Third Child, once again you are on the verge of losing yourself, of running away from your problems-and by dying, no less. Really, that's pathetic. Where's the great Third Child who stood up to me when we were last here, who kept me from leaving? I warned you that you would regret this."

"I-I…" Shinji trailed off, not sure how to respond to the accusations of the self within.

"I warned you, but you ignored me, choosing to go down the path of companionship—a road that leads only to loss in the end," Skari whispered menacingly, taking a threatening step towards the still Third Child. "A road that ends in heartbreak and despair, with you alone left to die, broken and ashamed. People counted on you, and let them down. You caused them pain because they knew you…but do you really care? You're just a selfish human being, I suppose."

"Shut up!" barked the Third Child, eyes blazing with defiance as he glared at his counterpart. "Why are you saying this?"

"Because I'm you," the other answered, regarding the brown-haired boy critically. "Because I am the self that watches, the self that you told not to run away. And yet, here you are in this place, ready to give up, to run into the arms of oblivion, because you can't bear any more pain, because you lost someone you care about. Isn't that just hypocrisy?"

His voice echoed through the space, cutting, biting, as if he knew of all of Shinji's dark secrets and would not let him pass without a reckoning.

"No—you're wrong," Shinji said to his double. "Yes, it hurts—it hurts so badly I could die, but I won't give up. Not now, not when I've come so far and even faced my father. I'll become strong enough to overturn even fate itself, take on the world if I have to, if it will bring back the Lost Ones!"

"The Lost Ones," Skari repeated thoughtfully, eyes accusing the counterpart of a nameless crime. "So you say, but you really just mean Reimeiki-chan, don't you?"

The verbal strike stopped the Third Child cold as the Adept Rogue continued.

"You probably don't care if anyone else is hurt, as long as you get her back, right?" the other questioned. "Trying to save everyone…you can't. You can only save the people you choose to—there will always be someone your voice cannot reach, someone who won't you can't save."

"There is no such thing," Shinji objected. "No such thing as a voice that cannot reach someone."

"Oh, really? What about your father? No, better yet, what about the designated pilot of Unit-02, Asuka Langley Soryu?" Skari inquired skeptically, a grim expression on his face as he hammered home his point. "She's a lot like us, you know? Someone who has been hurt greatly in the past, but tries to hide her pain with a façade of strength, lashing out at others because she thinks it will keep her from being hurt. Attacking you just because you have blue hair, turning Reimeiki and Ayanami into Lost Ones, swearing to destroy you, do you think even she can be saved? Do you even want to save her? You hate her for what she's done, don't you, Dark Evangel?"

"I—"

But the Adept Rogue cut off the Third Child before he could reply.

"What if I were to tell you that only by saving her could you bring back the Lost Ones?" he pressed, idly withdrawing two dual swords from his inventory, the mighty serrated daggers aptly named Wrath Bringers.

"And how would I do that?" Shinji asked quietly, sighing to himself.

"It's simple really—just listen to Father's words, take fate into your hands and forge a miracle," Skari said flatly, without emotion. "You just need to shatter her, to destroy her utterly, ripping away the AIDA inside her so she may come face to face with her crimes, with all that she hides from. You need to fight her within The World, and beat her, ripping away every shred of self-worth she has by showing her the truth she has denied."

"Destroy…?" the Third Child whispered, mind reeling from the thought.

"Yes, destroy, for in her case, destruction is the only way to bring about salvation," the Adept Rogue noted dispassionately. "You've seen with your own eyes what she has become, a demon twisted by the need for vengeance, given great power by her fate—do you really think that you can match her alone? What power can you call upon to defeat her? Your rage? You saw how easily she brushed that off, didn't you? The power of the Book of Twilight? If you cannot protect break her, you can't manage a data drain. So tell me, Third Child, how will you match her?"

"I'll find a way…because won't lose anyone else," the brown haired boy resolved, clenching his fists as he drew forth the dual swords Lit Honeysuckle. "I have bonds to them all…Reimeiki taught me that, so that I don't have to fight alone."

"Is that so? You think you can defeat her then, when everything says otherwise?" Skari taunted, turning as if to walk away and leave the Third alone. "Well then, I'm leaving, because you're chasing the impossible."

"No, stop!" These words broke Shinji from his paralysis, as he stumbled forward to stop his counterpart, only to be met with a backhand to the face, sending him sprawling. "I need you."

"And what do you hope to accomplish here? You can't stop me," the Adept Rogue said dismissively, but getting into a defensive stance regardless. "You can't even land a hit on me, can you, _'Dark Evangel?' _I don't believe you can, so I'll tell you what…if you manage to strike me even once, I will return with you to the world as you wish. Come, Third Child, try to surpass me, if you dare!"

'_He's right…I don't stand a chance against him, not injured as I am,' _thought the brown-haired boy. _'But if I don't stop him, I will lose a part of myself, and I can't lose anything else. In my life, I've lost more than I've gained…and that's why I can't withdraw, for the sake of what I've lost.'_

He took a step towards his greatest enemy, the dual swords Lit Honeysuckle in hand. One breath and then-suppressing his weakness, Shinji sprang forward!

_Crash! Clang!_

The other countered with ease, their blades striking and rebounding from one another, clashing again and again as they scythed the air, light against darkness. In the boundless chamber of beginning, metallic clanks and bangs ring out, mixed with the pitter-pat of a footstep forward or back as the battle raged on, to the accompaniment of ragged breathing and laughter in a syncopated staccato.

They were different, the two opponents, and yet…they were the same, carrying themselves identically as their blades matched one another. But one was already badly wounded—

"Gah!"

Falling victim to a vicious kick to the knee, Shinji stumbled after exchanging but a few blows, hands fumbling as a dual sword swung for his neck-

_Whoosh!_

-only to miss, as he turned the stumble into a forward roll, evading it and bringing up Lit Honeysuckle to slash at his angry double's face!

_Clang!_

"What? Impressive maneuver, but then again…you are me," Skari complimented, getting back in stance while watching Shinji warily, knowing that the boy could not possibly last much longer.

With a wordless cry, the Third Child charged, swinging his weapons with all his might—but Skari repelled the attack without even flinching, the counter pushing the brown-haired boy off balance. And then the Adept Rogue struck back, bringing to bear superior strength, speed, skill as he slashes, bringing the Shinji to one knee, unable to stand against the storm of blades. Down swings the Wrath Bringers as if to finish him off—

Only to be blocked by crossed swords raised in the air, a determined young boy holding his ground despite the disadvantage.

"Will you give up, Shinji? It's hopeless to face your own shadow," the Adept Rogue commented, pulling back his blades. "You cannot hope to win."

Using that opening, the Third Child lashes out with his foot, hoping to land a blow and settle the match—but Skari, anticipating a desperation attack, deflected that as well, and backed away, wary calculation in his eyes.

"Maybe," Shinji allowed, wincing with the effort it was taking merely to move. "But I won't run away!"

A broken rush this time, as identical techniques collided opposing one another. Both attacks, both defenses were exactly the same, but one was already staggering, growing weaker as the fight went on, while the other was not even breathing hard.

'_What clings to you?'_

Their conditions were unequal: one was truly not a match for the other, with the Third Child's vision filling with red, half-blinded every time he exchanged blows with his opponent. But he didn't care…he had already lost so much, been hurt so many times, he couldn't afford to lose another piece of himself. The pain in his arms was nothing compared to that in his heart and mind…

'_Bear it—you cannot.'_

"My my, so you have great force of will after all, just like Father," the other noted scornfully, but with some disappointment. "It's too bad you're already at a disadvantage, since you don't know me as I know you. For I have always been watching!"

With full force, dual swords were swung once more in a cross, only to be parried.

'_Accept it—you cannot._'

Shoulders heaving, Shinji blocked the oncoming strike as his split nerves screamed. Howling in pain, he slasheed desperately, planning on attacking until his strength runs out, in the hopes that he might somehow break through his shadow's defense.

"I might…be chasing the impossible," he conceded with ragged breath. "But if so, then I'll stop…when I run out of energy."

"Heh" was the only reply, sparks flying as dual swords met and deflected one another, blades whirling and circling like vultures over fresh carrion.

'_But hidden—it is from you.'_

To Shinj's surprise, Skari growled and leapt backwards, disengaging his blades from his foe.

"I told you to surpass your limits, so why do you stay within them?" the Adept Rogue demanded, crimson eyes narrowing at the wounded boy. "The difference between our powers is obvious…you cannot hope to win with pure strength in this situation. Let me ask you, Shinji Ikari, where are we?"

The Third Child regarded his counterpart suspiciously for a moment before the answer came to him, with him feeling like he had just been hit by a motor vehicle.

"We are…in my mind," he breathed, looking down at himself. _'And that mean that…'_

"I see you finally understand," his double replied. "I thought you had a vague idea, but you faced me as you would any other opponent. Sun Tzu, the great strategist, once wrote that in order to achieve victory, one needed to know oneself as well as one's opponent. Well, Shinji Ikari, this is your mind, and I am your shadow, the part of you that you cannot accept or approve of—that part that has always been watching. You have always suppressed me with your mantra, preferring to deny that you were at heart, a coward, one who was weak and who relied only on the approval of others. That is why you piloted EVA the first time…not to save Ayanami—for your father's approval. And that's all you really care about, isn't it? Yourself."

"St—Stop it!" Shinji barked, gritting his teeth as his thoughts raced, trying to deny, trying to resist the pressure to just cave before this part of himself.

"Don't make me laugh, Shinji Ikari, I know you," Skari replied. "I know you as no one else has. I know your deepest secrets, your darkest shames. Over and over, you said you wanted to protect people, that they counted on you…but only ever wanted their praise, didn't you? You are the worst kind of liar, the one who self-deceives! Don't you regret the hollow life you've led?"

The Adept Rogue attacked with his wickedly sharp blades, the swords arcing through the air with all the weight and power of self-loathing and contempt. There was no elegance in that, only a clean efficiency born of infinite sorrow and regret as the blow came smashing down—only to crash against the surface of the floor.

'_What? How did he?'_

'_This is my mind, and to face myself is not a test of arms, but of will. He may be me, but only a part of me—I can't give into his words, not now, not when I have a task yet to accomplish. His words hurt me, but mine…hurt him.'_

"Maybe I am a coward," admitted Shinji, having evaded the blow, now standing taller than ever. He looked at how badly battered he was, at how his opponent was unscathed, and then dismissed the thoughts of inequality from his mind. "Maybe I was those things, but not anymore. I've found hope, friends, love, companionship—a reason to go on. Even if what I want is thought to be impossible, even if it goes against unyielding fate, I can do it if I only keep on going, until my dying breath!"

At the Third Child's words, determination and new strength flooded into his body, the pain of his wounds fading, as he attacked with unimaginable speed!

This time, Skari was barely able to avoid the blow, arrogance melting away as he was forced to frantically block, parry, riposte, deflect as the other pressed on. To keep the balance, he counters hard, their blades meeting, pressing against one another at full force as their eyes met.

"I won't lose to you!" Shinji declared, as his blades sliced air, ringing against his opponent's swords. "I may lose against someone else one day, but I can't lose against myself. Self-who-watches, I have no regrets…this is the only path!"

The barrage of near-fatal strikes was relentless, the enemy strong, opposing not someone else, but himself. Though earlier, the Third seemed on the verge of giving up, now he was recovered, an unholy terror of the battlefield, who assaulted his foe with all his might, swinging his Lit Honeysuckles in his attempt to defeat the self that was hindering him.

'_And Shinji Ikari has always used himself hard,' _Skari recalled, beginning to become annoyed. _'Such_ _strength, and yet I wonder if he will survive his choice…'_

Seeing an opening in the brown-haired boy's defense, the Adept Rogue leapt in to end this farce, only to wince and turn away as Shinji ducks low and raked his dual swords against the blue-haired boy's side.

He felt, rather than saw, the blades strike him, and so lowered his weapons, bowing his head.

"So, you have struck me. You have won, Shinji Ikari."

But studying the face of the victor, Skari saw no trace of anger or resentment, only a strange curiosity.

"Why? Why did you help me by asking me about my limits?" the Third asked of his opponent, his voice soft and inquiring. "You could have just finished me, but you gave the clue I needed to win."

"Help you? Who knows…maybe you were the one helping me," he replied with a trace of a smile. "After all, the self can be friend, foe, or merely a meddler with a warning. And since you have defeated me, I will lend you my strength—you will need it to save the one you love, among others. Take the power of the Shadow alongside the power of light, and with those in your hands, forge the miracle you seek. After all, Lycoris entrusted you alone with her fate."

The room dimmed suddenly, fading into darkness, as the two figures came together in a radiant flash of light.

'_Her…fate. Fate…spelled backwards is "etaf"…is that the meaning of the item "etaf . cyl"?'_

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Hours earlier, the great battle against Iruel had been concluded, with Morganna heading from the now-deleted field of **Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel **to the operations folder of The World, from which she might reverse the effects of Iruel's time in the network. Having once been a goddess of the network, she knew the codes and commands to operate The World almost instinctively, so it was a simple enough task to transfer the minds of the players back to the main grid.

In the sky had appeared a vast magic circle of loops and whorls, as a giant data grid enveloped all within the game, a wave of light washing out to the boundary of the Morrigu Barrow Wall and rebounding, warping all the players back to the normal servers. Understandably, moments after logging out became possible once again, the forums had been filled with strange comments and topics from panicked players—as well as C.C. Corp dismissing this as a hoax and trying to close the threads as quickly as ever.

'_Even if everything else changes, CyberConnect Corporation remains the same.'_

Morganna herself had returned to Net Slum Tartarga, where she discovered that Siarl had also made an appearance in the illegal root town, setting one of his AIDA Mirages to deal with Helba.

"Tartarga, you said that Helba and her opponent fell from Net Slum onto a field of The World, is that correct?" she asked for confirmation.

"Yes, to the Lost Ground _**Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat**_, from which a massive data flare erupted shortly thereafter," the tortoise rumbled gravely, as the gargantuan creature was rather concerned about his old friend, the Mistress of Net Slum. "She would appear to still be on the field, although her signal is weakening."

"Very well…I will head to the field and analyze the situation," the former goddess responded. "Please recall the other dothackers, and have them assemble in the heart of Net Slum for a post action report. This battle was at least as serious as any of those against the Phases in the first iteration of The World, and I suspect that not everything went according to plan."

"Understood," the city-carrying tortoise acknowledged, as with a nod, Morganna vanished into a spiral of light.

Several minutes later, a massive tide of gold washed out the graphics for a brief while, as the entire remaining force of the dothackers gated into central control room of Net Slum, rather tired from their battles against both AIDA-Angel Iruel's minions and the Outer Bugs in the dungeon that they had escaped to shortly before the destruction of **Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel**. Or at least the team of Arano, Aruna, and Tomoyami were tired…Zelkova, the heir to Net Slum, and the Obsidian Knights Balthasar and Casper, were simply concerned.

"Man, at least I got some decent experience points for this," muttered Aruna, tiredly rubbing the back of his neck. "This place again…I never thought I'd see a town on the back of a turtle."

"Not just _a _town," a certain jester-like Arano quipped. "The town of towns, Net Slum, home of Vagrant AIs and junk data…the place where the best hackers in the world reside."

This left Tomoyami to carry Adept Rogue Skari's broken body, as the azure-haired boy had been critically wounded during the assault on Iruel's base and rendered unconscious, his data shifting with hints of instability. His partner Lycoris, the silver-haired child of Twilight, had been nowhere to be seen, and it was assumed that the worst had happened.

With a grunt of effort, she lowered Dark Evangel's unconscious form onto the floor of the room of white, before looking around at all the displays in this central chamber.

"This place…this really isn't a town at all…" she murmured, looking over at Zelkova for further instructions and information. "Do you have any further information on Skari and Lycoris?"

The room grew silent as conversation stopped, everyone focusing around the heir to Net Slum as Zelkova made his way to Skari's side and put him through a full character scan, with the results showing up as a hologram floating above the Adept Rogue.

"His character data is very unstable at the moment, as it seems to be rewriting itself," the Flick Reaper noted, raising an eyebrow. "It seems that he used an item that heavily damaged his character and his consciousness…I suspect that he is on the verge of losing himself. He may be within his mind, finding out who Skari really is."

"Losing…himself?" Tomoyami whispered tonelessly. "No…not another Lost One?"

"This guy—what about Lycois? What happened to her?" added Arano, as Aruna looked on sadly.

"He may still wake up," Zelkova replied, "depending on how strong of a will he has to live. As for Lycoris…I'm afraid the Child of Twilight is once again a Lost One…"

"Again?" asked Arano, furrowing his brow. "You mean, this has happened to her before?"

"Five years ago," answered Tomoyami. "During the Second Network Crisis…she's Aura's sister, after all."

Cue the pole axed expression of wide-eyed shock on a certain Shadow Warlock.

"The sister to…the Goddess of The World? Whoa…"

Aruna, however, merely padded over to where the stricken Skari was laying and put a hand on the Adept Rogue's shoulder.

"Wake up, man…we're all waiting for you," he said, shaking the fallen one. "Don't just keep sleeping. Get up, aren't you a dothacker? Get up!"

But Skari did not move, except for the shifting of his data as two elements warred for dominance within his soul.

Another spiral of golden light erupted in the room, revealing the Sorceress in Black Morganna cradling in her arms the broken Queen of the Dark. Without a word, the former goddess laid Helba down next to Skari and began to do what data manipulation she could to stop the damage from spreading. It was a wonder that Helba's character had lasted so long under these conditions, with the special protections broken and data evaporating, but even so, it would not last for much longer.

"I'm going to have to move her consciousness to another character," Morganna announced, shaking her head. "Zelkova, I believe you are familiar with the procedure that I am about to perform, since the current iteration of yourself was created from a data graft, correct?"

"Yes, I understand," the heir to Net Slum acknowledged, bringing up a new character on which to graft the data to: a tall, dark-haired woman, with a noble appearance and a small red tattoo on her forehead, wearing formal red Japanese clothing. This character was named "Kaede", meaning "Maple", symbolizing balance, promise, and practicality—exactly what the dothackers needed at the moment.

"Then let us begin," Morganna intoned, with her and Zelkova setting busily to work while the others looked on.

* * *

**Asuka Langley Soryu's Residence, NERV HQ**

"That BITCH!" Asuka Langley Soryu screamed at the top of her lungs, snarling after her small adventure in the strange field of The World. Once again, she had received a tip from a certain Macabre Dancer as to where her hated blunette foes would be, only to find that her only friend had stepped in to protect the baka. "DAMN YOU REMEIKI HAKUBO, YOU TRAITOR! You…choosing that damn invincible Shinji baka over me. That Shinji who steals everything from me…my friends, my pride, my praise, my skill. Both of them betraying me, hurting me, taking what is mine!"

She raged on, throwing books, operations manuals, and various other assorted items against the wall of her room—though not the M2D goggles, as the redhead did not want to have break another set, lest she either have to spend another $500 or owe Kaworu yet another "not-a-date." Though she found he wasn't bad company, as at least he appreciated her genius and talent, appreciated her for who she was.

'_Heh…not that I like the baka or anything…'_

Her mind shifted back to the confrontation in The World, as she recalled the sensation of her mind and body almost shattering when the silver-haired Lycoris used some kind of special energy blast on her.

'_I felt like I was going to die, and my character had so much damage done to it—what the hell was that skill? Was she some kind of hacker or something, trying to destroy my mind with her virus? She should have known better—my mind is invulnerable, like the rest of the great Asuka Langley Soryu. Maybe I should just report her to the World Network Council and see how they react…since they absolutely hate hackers…'_

"Verdammen traitor," she muttered, still twitching from earlier. "I thought you were my friend, and you try to kill me? All I was going to do is PK your precious little boyfriend, so why were you getting so worked up over it? Were you scared of the power of Al Fadel, the power that has made me one of the strongest characters in all The World? Well, I'll show you…I'll make him suffer every day, whether at NERV, at school, or in any other way I can. That baka hentai deserves to die…"

The redhead snickered, smirking as she thought of the many ways in which she would break the Third Child to her will, of the many ways that she would use to prove to others how weak the Third really was.

'_Maybe I'll just find a way to keep him from visiting his precious blunette Wondergirl, since he seems to be such a pervert with her comatose body too. And I haven't gotten back at him for stealing my first kiss back then—I'll definitely have to humiliate him. Maybe I'll get the Fourth to help me spread nasty rumors about the baka, or just utterly thrash him in the Arena, now that his little metallic blob of his gone too. Heh…even his monster was perverted, like one of those tentacle aliens in those hentai doujinshi…'_

"Yes…" the scarlet witch cackled, maniacal glee dancing in her eyes. "I'll find a way to get at you, Third Child, and your little harem too. Hehehe…and you will know the price for getting on my bad side and trying to make light of the great Asuka. You're a fool, baka Shinji. Wha—"

A quiet footstep sounded behind her, and the Second Child stiffened, as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist, with a silky voice whispering sensually into her ear.

"Yes, Shinji Ikari is most certainly a fool for not recognizing your talent, and even more of one for trying to steal the spotlight," he purred in his honeyed tones. "He deserves any punishment you give to him, as do any of those who use you or betray you, dear Asuka."

"Mmm…Kaworu," she moaned, before realizing the state she was in. "W-wait...wh-what are you doing, Fourth? I'm not even dressed presentably…"

"Just showing you that I'd never betray you, Asuka," the grey-haired boy murmured in response, his hot breath in her ear making her knees feel weak and shaky. "I was outside taking a walk, when I heard a loud shouting from your room. Your door was open, so I came in, as I was worried something might have happened to you, my love."

Asuka smiled despite herself, though she noticed in horror how she was only dressed in her pajamas, as she had not been expecting company.

"Baka!" she protested weakly, her strength largely spent after her earlier temper tantrum. "And what if I'd been changing or taking a shower, or just indecent?"

"I wouldn't mind…you would never be indecent in my eyes," he whispered, earning him a dig in the ribs from Asuka's elbow. "Besides, have I not already seen your naked form during the special sync test?"

The Second Child turned about to slap the Fourth, forgetting of course, that he would usually misinterpret her actions and kiss her instead—as turned out to be the case here.

"Why are you embarrassed?" he asked, almost (but not quite) managing to seem innocent. "Have you not seen mine as well?"

The redhead flushed rather violently at the embarrassment of the event that had transpired much earlier in the day. Then she frowned, remembering how Kaworu had hung back with Shinji, and generally being much too close to the Third.

"Fourth, what were you talking to the Third about?" she asked, her voice taking on one of its dangerous overtones once again. "It better not have been about me and my body or I'll hurt you, you hentai."

"Of course not," the grey-haired boy replied smoothly, crimson eyes meeting those of azure. "The Third was telling me of his bond with the First, and I, in turn, was telling him of some suspicions I have about the suspiciously inhuman way she acted. In fact, some of those back at NERV Germany do not believe her to be one of the Lilim."

"Oh?" Asuka asked, her interest piqued by this bit of information. "And what is she then, if not human?"

"Come now, Asuka, you are a genius…if she is not human, what type of being might she be?" Kaworu answered, a question for a question. "Besides, I cannot tell you everything, even if I am…what would the Lilim term be…your boyfriend?"

"Baka!" she snapped instinctively, but without too much real force. "You're not my boyfriend."

"Am I not a boy and your friend? Thus, do I not qualify as a boyfriend?" questioned the amused Fourth Child, which the Second answered by clapping her palm to her face. "Ah, the infamous face palm gesture…I will take that as a negative."

"You are really strange sometimes, Fourth," the Second sighed, shaking her head.

"It is my nature to be as I am, as one bound up by the chains of fate," he replied enigmatically, before giving her a charming smile. "Now, shall we have a walk around the Geofront, as was previously denied us due to the power failure?"

"Baka…I'm not dressed for going out," the redhead pointed out. "H-hey, don't ogle me!"

"I do not think appreciating the aesthetic beauty of your form would count as ogling," the Fourth countered gently. "But very well, since you do not want to go out, why don't we stay like this for a while, to help you forget about your worries."

"No, that's ok, I—mmph! Mmmm…"

Surprised by his kiss, Asuka never did realize that she hadn't left the door open.

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Something was…wet and warm and moving on his chest, the sound of weeping reaching his ears as rather groggy, and feeling rather like Misato with a massive hangover, Skari opened his eyes to yet another room of white. _'Another unfamiliar ceiling? Where am I this time… back in my mind?'_

Swiveling his eyes in his sockets, he could make out what seemed to be a massive control room, with some of his friends from The World gathered around him—Arano and Aruna standing next to him, and Tomoyami of the Shadow weeping over his fallen form, face buried in his chest.

He blinked, _once-twice-three_ times to see if this was some illusion, dream, or trick of the light, but the situation remained the same.

"Where…?" he managed to croak out, as Tomoyami looked up at him with tear-stained eyes, hugging him fiercely, and repeating "thank goodness you're awake" as she sobbed, head now buried instead in the crook of his neck.

Awkwardly, he returned the embrace, comforting the Chaotic PK by gently holding her and stroking her back.

"We were so worried about you," the Flick Reaper moaned through muffled sobs. "After finding you passed out in the field like that, and Lycoris gone, we were afraid…you'd become a Lost One too…you really scared us, Ikari-kun…"

Aruna and Arano also drew near, placing a comforting hand on each of his shoulders.

"Man, you sure know how to unsettle everyone and still get the attention of the ladies," sighed the bulky Aruna with a snort. "We thought you were a goner for sure, since you didn't wake up…"

"It's real, isn't it?" asked Arano, seemingly in shock as seriousness of the situation finally sank in, long after the mere surprise and excitement of finding out about the dothackers, and AIDA. "The Lost Ones, Doll Syndrome, all of it…its actually real…"

'_Reimeiki…I will get you back. I'll save everyone, and bring back the Lost Ones, no matter what it takes. Even if I stumble, even if I fall, I'll keep going until my very last breath.'_

"Yeah, it's real, Kensuke," he replied tiredly, completely drained of emotion by his struggle against himself. "All of it is real…and Reimeiki…she's…she saved me from the AIDA-PC Eris, and I failed her. But I'm not giving up, and I'm going to stop playing The World, because I have to stop AIDA, and bring back the Lost Ones."

"So you are awake at last, Skari," noted a strangely solemn Zelkova. Skari was usually used to the former Rumor as a cheerful if mysterious person, so this was a change. "Your character seems different than before…I hope you use your power well. We are now waiting for the Mistress of Net Slum to awaken from her own trial, as she suffered serious damage in the last battle as well."

The little boy with golden eyes gave him a weak smile, and then looked back over to the area beside him, where lay an unfamiliar noble-looking dark-haired woman clad in formal red Japanese clothing, with Morganna standing by her side.

"Who's that?" the Adept Rogue asked, as the woman stirred at last. "Is that…Helba?"

Hearing the name of her alter-ego, the consciousness residing in the new avatar began to awaken. Blurred impressions of past and present sped past him, as if a soul was finding its way to a new container, until the new Blade Brandier named Kaede opened her eyes.

"Zelkova…and Morganna," she whispered, sitting up slowly and looking around the room. "I take it we won, despite complications. I am pleased to see nothing happened to either of you…but I would like to know the whereabouts of the Child of Twilight, as well as Skari's condition, as his avatar seems changed. I do not remember his character with red wave markings on his face, nor do I remember him wearing robes of silver etched with red."

"Lycoris is…she has become a Lost One, it seems from Skari's recollection. As for the Dark Evangel, he now bears the Twilight Bracelet, along with some other data the install book has altered and stabilized in his system" intoned Morganna, giving Skari a rather strange look as if seeing some other Bracelet Bearer in his place. "But my dear Helba, why don't you examine yourself first?"

"Hm?" asked the no-longer-sorceress who was no longer wearing white, raising a curious eyebrow upon seeing her new character's appearance. "A data graft technique? I take it that in my struggle against the AIDA Mirage of Melchior, the form of Tsukinoki was irretrievably damaged by both my data flare techniques and hers. I believe I managed to destroy her, but there exists a slim possibility that the rogue Knight survived and is regenerating with the aid of AIDA."

"Most likely you were successful in neutralizing your opponent," Morganna said gravely, remembering the damage done to the field where the characters had fought. "Among other things, you destroyed the bridge leading into Sugar Mansion Sif Berg. I take it that that was a variant of the vaccine you deployed many years ago, Kaede?"

"Kaede, is it?" the newly named Blade Brandier inquired, looking around at her allies. "Very well then, as it fits into the tree theme I wish to continue. Thank you for your aid, Morganna, without which my consciousness might very well have joined the Lost."

"Hm…I have no intention of allowing you to fall so easily, my old enemy," the Sorceress in Black sniffed, looking away. "I am the only one allowed to defeat you, after all. But perhaps you should thank Zelkova, as it was him that I looked to for a model of how to perform this procedure."

"Then thank you as well, Lord Zelkova," the Mistress of Net Slum replied, with a nod to her heir. "Now onto other business, dothackers—I require a summary of your actions during the last battle, after which we need to discuss plans for dealing with the AIDA-PCs known as Eris, Bringer of Strife, and Siarl of the Seven Eyes, both of which destructively interfered with the plan, leading to our heightened casualty count. It is time to take the offensive against the AIDA threat."

'_And time to involve some others, such as Wiseman…'_


	40. Logout 16: Wandering in the Maze

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Wandering in the Maze **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Tokyo-3 General Hospital**

"If you are near to the dark, I will tell you 'bout the sun," softly sang a sad, almost wistful voice, remembering a time long ago when she had sung to another who slept. The voice belonged to a mysterious but commanding figure all in black, sitting beside a bed in an unusually colorful hospital room. "Willst du immer weiter wander, Lycoris?"

'_Most unlike the usual utilitarian rooms of steel-gray and white_,' the woman mused, shaking her head slowly. '_This one_ _reminds me of the past, in the way it is painted, with scenes of a forest on the walls.'_

On a bed in the room's very center lay the comatose form of a certain silver-haired girl, the sister of a goddess, who had wanted nothing more than to laugh and dance in a field of wildflowers. But now she slept dreamlessly, golden eyes closed, unseeing, her uncased silver hair fanned out across her pillow framing a face haunted by sadness and longing. Wearing nothing but a simple white dress, she almost looked like another girl Morganna had known long ago, one who slept for ages in The World.

"You are far more like Aura than you realize, my Child of Twilight," the former goddess murmured, lost in distant memories. "Even entrusting your fate to a young boy, giving into his hands the key to overturning everything, knowing he would move heaven and earth to bring you back. A strange thing love is, as a power that can overcome even the terror of death, yet one that is as gentle as the twilight breeze. But will he master even his own shadow, I wonder, alongside the one who turned you into a Lost One."

She sighed, looking over at the small vase of spider lilies sitting on the corner table, and the red dress and cape that hung on a hook above it—the two spots of warmth in an otherwise plain room. _'You are the same as always, even if you have grown…making them question, making them grow, simply with your desire to live and the tale of your past. Whereas I…'_

"Do you know the meaning of the name Dark Evangel?" she asked, looking down at the fragile girl in her slumber. "No doubt you do, as their origins are of the same tongue as your name. It is, after a fashion, Messenger of Darkness, or Avenger. That is the title by which Skari, the one you have chosen as Bearer of the Bracelet, is known. A rather interesting one, your Slayer of Angels…"

A quiet _click_ sounded amidst the whirrs and beeps, as the door opened and closed, with a mousy brunette entering the room. The bridge tech had been on her way to NERV, but had decided to stop by to see the former denizen of Net Slum. Walking over to the woman beside the bed, the new visitor handed her a cup of coffee, which the former goddess took with a faint smile.

"I thought your assistant was the one who could always be found with food or drink in hand," Morganna teased half-heartedly, still brooding over the results of yesterday. "Or have you switched places with him, dear Queen?"

"He apparently prefers giant robot manga now, though why I cannot fathom," Maya replied dryly, a moment of tenderness flitting across her face for a moment as she regarded the girl on the bed. "Things have changed greatly since the time of Kite."

"Heh, the most interesting changes being what I am and who you are," the former Goddess noted, taking a sip of her coffee. "It is…strange, being in this position, mortal but still wondering at how mortals find the strength to do what they do. And now that I find myself where the bracelet bearer was years ago…"

"He was a brave little boy, wasn't he?" Maya asked idly, reminiscing of the past. "Or perhaps a very foolish one, to throw himself into danger so, becoming the knight of azure flame. His companion, was much the same, though they not were not as foolish as a certain pighead."

"The one who tried to delete the bracelet bearer?" Morganna inquired knowingly, remembering that particular incident well. "He was almost as foolish as…the Long Arm with eyes like the stars. But then, one could categorize most would-be heroes that way: brave, but foolish."

"The one administrator who began to understand the secrets of Fragment, yet was ultimately blamed for the Twilight?" interjected the mousy brunette, quirking an eyebrow as the Queen of the Dark made a connection in her mind. "The one who to whom Lycoris first gave up her fate, and who now lives with Yeats?"

"The very same," the black-haired woman confirmed, thinking of hospitals, comas, and the other matter they had discussed at Net Slum. "Speaking of the system, have you contacted Hino?"

"Indeed, and he will attempt to gather up the stray factors, should we be unsuccessful in our quest," Maya responded in the affirmative, giving a brief now. "The Prophet was most vocal about his irritation at CC Corp for their actions in the RA Plan and in the fire, and promised to render aid in exchange for that which had been given."

The two women stood together in silence, both tired, needing the moment's respite from the world. Outside, the sun was beginning to rise, and the brief interlude of twilight was passing. Very soon, both of the powerful women in the room would have to depart to their respective destinations, playing their roles as they did each and every day.

"I shouldn't need to warn you," the mousy brunette said after a few moments, "but the free man will be transferring into your class today. Observation has confirmed unstable elements, as well as a close friendship with the Bringer of Strife. "

"The meddler from the old men, together with the hedgehog girl…this does not bode well," Yumi Aranami admitted with a sigh. "I will take the necessary measures to protect our allies. Meanwhile, perhaps you should set Fili to the task of investigation."

"Indeed so, though I would be curious as to whether AIDA possession has granted either of them abilities beyond the human norm," the Queen of the Dark mused quietly, turning to leave, but first casting one last glance at Lycoris. "Lying there sleeping, clad in white…the Child of Twilight seems very much like Aura, doesn't she?"

"They are sisters of a sort, and I am their mother, from a certain point of view," the former goddess acknowledged. "Dusk, Twilight, and Dawn…Aura and I given destiny and fate to follow, but Lycoris allowed to choose her path…truly a captive fallen angel, and the most human of us all."

"Hm," was Maya's noncommittal response, as she walked to the door and opened it, leaving a few words in her wake. "Thank you once again for your assistance last night, dear Morrigu. May the Child of Twilight soon awaken from her slumber."

"Consider it my thanks for the tangled emotions you inspire, my old enemy," nodded Morganna, watching the brunette as she walked away. "Loathe as I am to admit it, I need you, just as you need me."

"I recall you once telling a certain wavemaster the very same words," the bridge tech noted, lips quirking into a momentary smile. "I still don't trust you entirely, you know, even if you did save my life."

"Isn't that all the more reason for us to walk together? Since we clearly mistrust each other enough that we can easily pick out betrayals?" the former goddess reasoned, coaxing a soft laugh from the Queen of the Dark. "They do say to keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

"Touché," conceded the mousy brunette. "The usual place and time?"

"Indeed. I'll be waiting."

**

* * *

**

**NERV Medical**

"Their awful folds in the dark air; silent she lay as night," recited the enigmatic Fourth Child as he stood over the comatose First. "For never from her iron tongue could voice or sound arise…the eternal sleeper, Lost One."

The grey-haired boy was peering down at the blue-haired girl intently, a trace of his trademark smirk upon his lips.

'_We are alike, you and I, no matter how much you or the Third may deny it,' _he thought silently, contemplating how already the situation so favored him. '_But I wonder, would he really still care for you if he found that in truth you were of his enemies?'_

"What are you babbling about now, Kaworu?" a certain German redhead asked impatiently. She was leaning against the doorframe since she couldn't stand the sight of the blue-haired wench, and had only come because the grey-haired boy had been rather…insistent in taking her along. "And why did you want to visit the First anyway?"

"Is it not important to know one's enemy?" the Fourth countered with ease. "Did you not say you wanted so prevent the Third from visiting her, or at least to catch him doing perverted things? After all, should one not observe a subject until his reactions are predictable, or he does something incriminating? At the very least, if we are here, we may deny him access to the so-called girl, no?"

"Yes…yes, you're completely right, Fourth," conceded Asuka Langley Soryu, rubbing her hands in anticipation. "But—"

"You don't like seeing the First's doll-like face," Kaworu finished flatly, finishing his study of the body of Rei Ayanami and walking over to join the Second. "Tell me something, Asuka, when the Third visited this place in the past, did he act suspiciously, almost as if he harbored feelings of guilt? Did he act abruptly as if stung by criticism? And does he play The World?"

Asuka's eyes widened as she thought back to the…incident…in Ayanami's room, when the Third Child has forcibly stolen two kisses from her after molesting the blue-haired girl.

"Th—that baka hentai!" the redhead snarled, still remembering how he had forced a kiss upon her, humiliating her. "Yes, he did…and he does, as that infuriating Dark Evangel Skari, the blue-haired dumbkopf who makes it his mission to stalk me with his metallic tentacle monster. What about it, Fourth?"

"A metallic tentacle monster…I see…in that case, he is definitely the one responsible for putting the First into a coma," summed up the enigmatic Kaworu. "The display of guilt, and his desire to use her comatose body only confirms it."

"W-what? The Third is a hacker?" Asuka asked, almost incredulous at the thought.

"There is no such monster in The World, thus his possession of such a creature marks him as a hacker, does it not?" explained the grey haired boy. "It is said that five years ago, during the Second Network Crisis, such a monster was seen, with the player who controlled it affecting players in real life. It has been further stated that the comas then were the work of a virus spread by hackers—these two are not unrelated, in my mind. The Third, then, is definitely the cause of the recent outbreak of Doll Syndrome."

"Affecting real life…yes…yes, it all makes sense now," the Second child breathed, baring her teeth in a maniacal grin. "That's why Hakubo chose him over me…they're both hackers trying to put people into comas with a virus. That bitch—she tried to put ME into a coma! It all fits…he tries to steal my glory, my richly deserved praise, my friends…and now he wants to steal my mind, so he can have his way with my sleeping body, that baka! Heh Heh…I'll see how good that baka is at getting out of situations when I report both of them to the World Network Council, him and his accomplice, Reimeiki Hakubo, the traitor and false friend."

"A report to the World Network Council…a wise tactic, and a death sentence for the Third if he is confirmed as a hacker, unless NERV decides to intervene," Kaworu noted, his eyes shining with amusement. "Indeed, if the Third is the malevolent force putting pilots into comas, then that would be the best course of action, as I would prefer not to be a victim. Nor would I like it if you were to become a Lost One."

"Heh…as if some virus could possibly hurt the great Asuka Langley Soryu!" the redhead crowed arrogantly. "Thanks to my obvious power and skill, I was able to shrug off the traitor's attack and defeat her. And I would have eliminated that verdammen Skari too, if he hadn't called up a powerful dragon. Serves him right, always running away after his perverted acts are stopped, the coward…I'll just have to punish him, and show him the true meaning of pain."

She raised an eyebrow as Kaworu took her arm and led her out of Ayanami's room.

"I believe we have spent enough time in this cold, unsightly place," the Fourth said as he pulled her along. "In any case, it is time for us to be going—I would be far from a gentleman if I were to deprive the school of the beauty of its idol."

**

* * *

**

**Tokyo-3 General Hospital**

'_I don't really like hospitals,'_ Shinji thought to himself as he wandered through maze-like corridors, colors washed out by bright florescent lights. _'They don't seem like places of healing, just of suffering and death, concentrated into a single location. And now both Reimeiki and Ayanami are in hospitals, since I couldn't protect them…'_

The brown-haired boy was tired, and understandably so, as he had been at the city's main hospital overnight, alternately crying, talking with the imposing Yumi Aranami, sleeping uncomfortably, or wandering the halls. It was still hard to accept that his lover was now in a coma, or that he couldn't do anything about it in this world—and it was even harder to accept that he had to go to school and work beside the one who had put her into that state. And on top of that, having to deal with the unsettling Fourth Child was not to his liking either.

Thus, Shinji remained in the hospital, taking the time to face himself and the times he had failed in his duty to serve and protect. He had sat beside the silver-haired girl in silence for most of the night, falling asleep in an awkward pose, only waking up when Morganna had gently shaken him and told him to take a short walk outside to clear his head.

During his wanderings, he had come across the room of Touji's sister, and had plucked up the courage to finally pay her a visit and apologize for allowing her to get injured. The Third had thought to do so quietly, slipping in and giving a recounting of his many sins while the younger Suzuhara was sleeping, but to his surprise, she had been awake and greeted him with a smile.

'_It was strange, to be so easily forgiven…though I don't deserve her praise,' _he mused in the aftermath of his confession. _'Strange to think of myself as idolized, when I simply do what I can, and not always well, either. But I do feel a little lighter, knowing she doesn't blame me for what I did, even hoping that her brother and I will be good friends. I can see why Touji is so protective of her…'_

With that personal business concluded, Shinji had left, heading back to Lycoris' room to spend a last few hours by her side before going to school.

"Macha…" came a muffled voice, as a door to one of the rooms swung open, and Maya Ibuki emerged, seemingly as tired as he, a troubled expression on her face.

"Ibuki-san!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

'_Did I really hear Ibuki-san say "Macha"? It couldn't be…'_

"Just checking on an old friend, from years ago, one I met through The World," the bridge tech replied, gesturing to the name on the door, a certain 'Kaoru Ichinose.' "He was always somewhat of a recluse, though he did love a certain other called 'Mia', or 'Macha.'"

"Macha…" Shinji repeated, narrowing his eyes. _'Macha…as in the Phase?'_

"Yes, Macha, named for one of the faces of the triple goddess Morrígna of Celtic lore," Maya informed him. "The others were usually the Morrígan and the Badb. Macha the temptress, Badb the mirage of deceit, Morrígan the prophet…together they were the three of war, the Phantom Queen, although sometimes other accounts include Fea the Avenger or Anu the Terror of Death."

'_The titles of the Phases…?'_

"Ah, that's almost like the titles of the Phases of the Cursed Wave in the Epitaph of Twilight," Shinji remarked after a thoughtful pause. "And all these were part of a goddess called Morrígna…interesting. How is your friend?"

"He's…in a coma," the mousy brunette answered softly. "His parents found him slumped over at his computer, where he had been playing—"

"The World," the Third Child filled in tonelessly, suddenly feeling tired once again. "He's a Lost One, then?"

"So it seems…its strange that he would be involved once more as the Twilight comes again," Maya sighed, shaking her head. "Sorry Ikari-kun, I know that it's been hard on you with Ayanami falling into a coma, and now your girlfriend too."

"You know about—?"

"I happened to meet her guardian Aranami-sensei while I was here," the bridge tech answered. As usual, she spoke words that technically it weren't lies, even if they didn't reveal too much. "I'm sorry to hear about that…but I hope you find a way to bring them back. And now I have to go…Akagi-sempai wants me to come in early to do some work on MAGI. Good luck, Ikari-kun."

With a wave and a friendly smile, Maya walked briskly down the corridor and soon disappeared from sight, as Shinji likewise made his way to his destination, Lycoris' hospital room. Knocking twice to announce his presence, the Third Child opened the door and entered, making his way over to an empty chair by the bedside, next to the one named Yumi Aranami.

It was strange to think that his teacher, the tall, imposing woman who had walked in to Class 2-A one day, could seem to very vulnerable in the night, as if haunted by memories of something in her past.

"Aura was like this too, once, sleeping in The World," the older woman murmured, eyes unfocused, seeming to see another scene of years ago. "And there she waited until a young Tsukasa woke her, a frightened little girl whose mother had died when she was young, whose father neglected and abused her. A cold one hiding a kind heart, who found the courage to stop running away from reality...she was very much like you in that way."

Morganna turned to look at the tired brown-haired boy, blinking as her eyes focused upon him.

"How are you holding up, Shinji?" she asked, coming back to the present and putting a gentle hand on his head. "I know this must be hard for you as well, especially since you two were close. The higher up it is dropped, the worse the crash will be…and it is a hard thing, bearing the weight of both worlds on your shoulders, just like the last Bearer of the Bracelet."

"I…I don't know," the brown-haired boy admitted, his mind feeling somewhat heavy. "I'm still in shock right now, I think, and I keep thinking that Reimeiki-chan is only sleeping, that she'll wake up soon. She…she sacrificed herself to save me…and I…"

"That's because she loves you, as Aura loved the one she chose…"

"The one she chose…?" Shinji questioned, not having heard of this part of the story before.

"He was the last Bearer of the Bracelet," Morganna began hesitantly, coming to grips with the reality of the now. "A boy no older than you who lost a friend to the Wave before his eyes, who walked a very difficult path to bring him back…a boy who was forced into situation he did not understand, and yet emerged a hero. His name…was Kite…the legendary dothacker who gathered the scattered fragments of Aura, for whom Aura laid down her life in the final battle against…against the Wave. All Aura wanted was to live…but she was willing to die because she loved him—and thus she was reborn."

"…as the Goddess of The World," Shinji breathed, this new view of the dothackers altering his outlook on the situation. "You mentioned the scattered fragments of Aura…would this have anything to do with the strange item I was given alongside the book, a certain '_etaf . Cyl_?'

"Yes, like Aura she segmented her consciousness so as to prevent its destruction," Morganna acknowledged with a small nod. "And she has given you the most important piece—her fate. To bring her back, you must gather the other pieces of her mind in The World…her memories, her awareness of self, her dreams…and restore them to her wandering form trapped in The World."

"And how would I—?"

"You will know, Bearer of the Bracelet, as her fate will be drawn to her other fragments," the tired woman told him. "But Eris likely holds a fragment of her, since it was her blade that struck the fatal blow. The Bringer of Strife…so very fearful deep inside, held in thrall to her dark side, as she tries to drown her self-doubt in a river of blood. I would be wary of her, Ikari, as a wounded animal is often the most vicious."

"I can't forgive her for what she did, even if she is like me," the Third Child said in turn. "Wounded she may be, hurt, she may be, but she has hurt so many others—taken away Reimeiki and Ayanami, even taunting them as she cut them down. When I was…unconscious, a part of me realized that she was like me, but that she is so far gone, I have to destroy her to save her. That is why I can't forgive her, even if she is in pain…because if I think of her as human, if I think of her as vulnerable and hurting, as a person who could have been a friend, I won't be able to stop her. All I can do now is consume my emotions and try to save everyone…to not give up, not run away."

"A curious thing, isn't it, the emotions of human beings?" Morganna asked once more. "To at once aid and hinder on the path. Personally, I think _that_ is what it means to be a Shadowed One, to be able to feel, to think, to go beyond the logical. Because I have seen how people waver, seen how others confront themselves and the demons within to overcome. They struggle with themselves, uncertain of their paths, but still they press on…amazingly enough, not for their own sake, but for that of others. You are like that too, because you stand against the Angels, forces much greater than yourself. Tell me…why did _you_ come to Tokyo-3? And why do you stay?"

"I came because…because Father wanted me to come," he admitted for the first time. "Because I thought that things might be different—I just wanted to be accepted. And the first time I piloted EVA…it was because there was no one else, because I didn't really have a choice. I-I nearly died then, and I ended up hurting people because all I wanted to do was run away, some of who are also in this hospital. The second time…I-I nearly killed two people, and I almost couldn't take it anymore. I would have run away, if not for finding a strange box in my room, with a copy of The World. It kept me here, and then…after meeting everyone and knowing them… I found that couldn't run away anymore, because to run away only means more people being hurt, and I can't let that happen, not after this. So…that's why, I've resolved to see things through to the end."

"You are a brave, if foolish boy, Shinji Ikari," his teacher told him with a wan smile, a rueful chuckle escaping her lips. "Very much like the silver-haired girl sleeping here…which is probably why she loved you enough to sacrifice herself for you."

The tall, commanding woman rose from her seat then, turning to the Third Child.

"Come then, let us head to school—your friends are waiting."

**

* * *

**

**Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Courtyard**

Though Touji and Kensuke had often been called the Idiot Duo, they were actually fairly intelligent people, if lacking in common sense. However, despite this handicap, having spent a considerable amount of time around the Class Representative, they knew that it would be a very bad move to annoy her—which is all they were likely to accomplish if they moved to stop her from stalking to the gate, where the Second Child, the self-proclaimed beauty of Tokyo-3, was now entering.

Given the dark aura of menace and killing intent that they had recognized around the usually peaceful and rule-abiding Hikari Horaki (one more often present in her counterpart, Tomoyami of the Shadow), the two were simply following at a distance, walking as if over eggshells, trying not to set her off.

'_I have a very bad feeling about this,' _thought Touji, as the tall, athletic boy watched from a distance, not wanting to get too close lest he become the focus of her displeasure. _'The Class Rep is the most strait-laced person in school, and normally only harsh with words. But if she's really getting angry, then…'_

The jock gulped and shuddered as terrible images of a blood-splattered Hikari howling in laughter as she ripped a demonic beast apart with her bare hands popped into his mind, this coincidentally being the same image in Kensuke's mind.

'_They say to beware the quiet ones…well, we've seen Shinji in his EVA…so what's going to happen if the Class Rep goes berserk?'_

They looked at each other fearfully, as the pig-tailed girl came closer and closer to her target-until at last she reached her destination, lashing out at the Second Child without warning.

_Thwack!_

A vicious clawing slap that cracked against the face of the Red Devil-followed up with a backhand that sent her victim sprawling with a string of vehement curses.

"Was für ein Haufen Scheiße!" Asuka snarled, eyes flashing as she rose and brought a hand to her wounded cheek, feeling the slickness of blood. "You…how dare you strike me?"

"You deserve it, bitch!" Hikari snarled, calling upon all her repressed rage as she lunged forward, driving a violent punch into the redhead's gut with one hand, her other grabbing a handful of Asuka's bosom and twisting _hard_, extracting a wounded howl from Asuka's lips. "You…you turned Reimeiki into a Lost One!"

Though winded, the redhead was not about to go down without a fight, and so grabbed into her opponents arms and twisted violently, as if to break them.

"She got what she deserved" Asuka hissed, livid at the thought that someone had dared to strike her, the savior of the world. "She was a verdammen schweinepriester hacker who tried to put me into a coma after lying to me and calling herself my friend! So what if her little virus rebounded and got her? Why do you care...are you a hacker to-oopf…"

Though the primary weak point of a female was not between the legs, a fierce strike with the knee to the pubic bone would still hurt like hell, as Asuka discovered to her chagrin.

_'You...how dare you, you freckled slut?'_

Reeling with pain and shock, the German girl let go and doubled over, staggering away just enough for the brunette to grab her hair, and with a bestial roar, smashing her fist into Asuka's face and hurling the redhead to the ground, with the Class Rep continuing her relentless barrage as the Second Child cursed, seeking to defend herself from the flurry of blows.

Watching from the distance, the Idiot Duo cowered, whimpering.

"I don't care if you hate me, or if you hurt me, but you," Hikari growled in a low, very dangerous tone of voice, punctuating each of her words with a vicious kick to the redhead's prone form. "But you do NOT hurt my friends. And you don't tell me that putting someone in a coma was that they deserved. BITCH!"

A particularly brutal blow for emphasis, but one that Asuka anticipated, using the force of the kick to fuel a roll from the attacks, where, with a smidgen of breathing room, she recovered to her feet, balling her hands up into fists and baring her teeth in a primal sign of challenge.

"No one attacks me and gets away with it," she bellowed, blocking the next slap and lashing out with one of her own punches—only to be blocked. "How dare you strike me, your savior, who fights against the Angels? Are you on _their_ side, a traitor to humanity who sides with _them_?"

A fast-spinning leg sweep knocked the Class Rep off her feet, and the Second Child followed her to the ground to pin her foe and make her submit, but the pig-tailed girl was more resilient than she thought, and driven by rage, Hikari clamped her hands around the redhead's throat and _squeezed_, enduring the punishment of Asuka's clawed hands and fists, only grimly tightening her grip as the other struck and flailed and fought desperately to escape the choke-hold.

"Traitor, eh?" the Class Rep spat, watching as Asuka's efforts began to weaken, eyes burning with hatred. "You tried to kill Ikari-kun, you hurt Ayanami-san, you put Remeiki-san into a coma, and you call ME the TRAITOR? Let this be a warning to you…don't mess with my friends!"

"A-aah—" Asuka gasped for breath, choking as she grabbed onto Hikari's wrists in an attempt to wrench the brunette's hand loose, to make the girl let go. To her surprise, the pig-tailed girl played along, releasing the Second Child—but only so that she could deliver a snap kick that sent her flying, only to land with a sickening _thud _in a broken heap at the feet of the Third Child, who along with Morganna, willfully ignored her and walked on, going to Hikari's side.

"You're pathetic, Asuka, no Eris, Bringer of Strife," the Class Rep said, her fury dampened slightly by the physical release granted by violence. "Be grateful I'm not like you, or you would have received far worse than that."

Asuka Langley Soryu got up, her body tensing to charge the one who had dared to attack her and to eliminate her for good—but before she could, she was stopped by a hand from behind closing around her wrist.

"Not now, Asuka…there is another place for such matters. We have already reported the perpetrators to the World Network Council, so the day of reckoning is nigh," a silky voice whispered softly, causing the redhead to freeze in her tracks. "Besides…why bother with this now…do you really want to become like her, a mere doll enslaved to wrath?"

"Let go, Kaworu…" the Second Child bit back harshly. "I need to teach this bitch a lesson..."

"No…" the grey-haired boy broke in firmly, cutting her off in a tone that would brook no disagreement. "That would be reckless, as you would simply be playing into that Lilim's wishes for you to do so. Remember, you are the best, so choose your battles wisely. This is neither the time, nor the place for such things…you are beyond this."

A tense stalemate of wills as the Second and Fourth locked eyes, though after a few seconds, the Second conceded grudgingly, standing down while rubbing her throat-and glaring daggers at the Class Representative.

"And who might you be?" Hikari asked of the newcomer, having once again returned to her more pleasant business like demeanor.

"My name is Kaworu Nagisa," he replied, smiling pleasantly at the Class Rep. "And it appears I have the dubious honor of being the newest member of Class 2-A. Now if you will excuse me, it appears I must take my girlfriend to the infirmary."

With that, the Fourth escorted the Second Child to the stated destination, ignoring her vehement protests that she was perfectly fine and did not need any treatment. And as he walked away, Shinji couldn't help glaring at Kaworu's retreating back, as the others did likewise, their thoughts unvoiced.

'_You…what are you planning?'_

'_Another EVA pilot…why wasn't I chosen?'_

'_I don't like the look of this guy…'_

'_He seems a suspicious character, to control Asuka so easily…'_

'_So at last we meet in person, Siarl of the Seven Eyes…servant of AIDA and SEELE.'_


	41. Logout 17: Diverging Scenarios

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Diverging Scenarios**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Human Instrumentality Committee, Special Meeting**

He was a man who wore a mask of stone, who directed the actions of friends and foe alike. He was a man who had gained the world, but lost his soul in the process. He was a man trusted to direct humanity's defense against eldritch horrors from another age, yet a man bound by duty and desire to betray them at the last, to dedicated to the purpose of either helping humanity surpass its limits or bringing back his own Lost One.

As the son was to the father, so was the father to the son, a man who had met his inner self and had been asked if he would continue on the road of companionship and intimacy. But he had forsaken it, instead succumbing to the embrace of pain, becoming his inner demon, willing to do anything it took to accomplish his goal. In truth, perhaps he was the one who best deserved the title "Dark Evangel" (instead of the one granted behind his back: "Bastard King"), as he had become something almost inhuman, consuming his emotions to become strong.

And yet, he was not quite the master of his own domain, as he was (at least in name) subservient to the puppetmasters of the world, the cabal known as SEELE, the men behind "The Man" who forced governments, NGOs, and other secret societies to bend to their will.

By their desire, Gendo Ikari stood in a pitch black room, the only illumination coming from the holographic monoliths surrounding him, each black with red lettering, numbered 01 through 12, accompanied by the words "SEELE" and "Audio Only." The Commander of NERV was making his report to the Human Instrumentality Committee, and they were…not amused.

"The appearance of Gaghiel was slightly divergent from the scenario," rumbled one of the monoliths in resonant sepulchral voice, apparently displeased. The actions of the Angels were supposed to be perfectly predicted by the secret sections of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and for even a slight anomaly to occur spoke of possible disaster for their ultimate plans.

Gendo, of course, knew exactly why the irregularity was present, but he couldn't simply tell his masters that he had ordered their agent Ryoji Kaji to steal Adam and deliver it to him, and that is why the Sixth Angel had attacked the UN Convoy.

"The result was within the predicted range," he lied smoothly, poker face impervious as always. "It is possible to revise."

One of the more disgruntled monoliths still found a reason to nitpick, citing the loss of one third of the U.N. Navy, but another talked him down, as the ships were of his country, and negligible in the grand scheme of things.

"Indeed," rumbled the monolith titled SEELE-01, "It was quite fortunate that once again that the damage was minimal. However…the comatose state of the First Child and the subsequent necessity of selecting a Fourth is not a minor inconsistency. This does not bode well…explain yourself, Ikari."

"The reason for the First's condition is currently under investigation," the bearded man related, sunglasses flashing in the dim light. "And there is no suggestion that this has occurred from anything other than a simple accident during a reactivation experiment. The prototype has always been somewhat temperamental."

"You should watch your speech with care, Ikari," SEELE-01 spoke quietly. "A perjurer before this committee shall die. We have received a troubling report from the World Network Council concerning claims that the Third Child is a skilled hacker that he has developed a virus capable of inducing nocebo comas in others by simulating mind death, and further that he was the culprit behind the First's collapse."

"That is impossible, and the report to the WNC is obviously falsified, as the Third has not demonstrated considerable expertise with computers," Gendo said, spinning his words on the fly to deal with the predicament he found himself in. "As well, the bond between them would have precluded such an attempt. Thus he would not have the means, nor the motive, and the report is of no concern. With the arrival of the Fourth, the scenario can be restored."

"Don't make us laugh, Ikari!" voiced yet another monolith. "Concealing facts is one of your specialties. Indeed, a rumor states that NERV headquarters was directly invaded, and worse, that the invader was allowed to breech Central Dogma. If contact had taken place, the entire plan would be in jeopardy."

"Again, the report to this committee was false," the Commander of NERV asserted, mask remaining expressionless as he denied the charges. "There is no truth to the Angel's invasion."

"Then, Ikari, you're saying, the Eleventh Angel's invasion is not fact?"

"Of course," the bearded man replied. "I will allow you to investigate the records of Magi. Nothing concerning the incident was recorded. With the exception of minor deviations, the schedule is proceeding as described in the Dead Sea Scrolls."

"Very well, this time we will not accuse you of a crime," the twelve monoliths spoke as one. "However, you have been warned: do not write a new scenario."

"I understand," Ikari acknowledged. "May everything be according to the scenario of SEELE."

The holographic monoliths faded out, leaving the Commander of NERV alone in the pitch blackness, leaving the resentment in his thoughts unspoken.

'_Because it is surely not proceeding according to mine...'_

* * *

**Commander Ikari's Office, NERV HQ**

'_This is unacceptable. As expected, the Committee does not trust me, as I do not trust them, but the Old Men are easily enough manipulable if they are given what they expect. The news of the World Network Council investigating the Third Child was unexpected, as the MAGI have analyzed his usage patterns and the data he transmits, with no anomalies detected—however, this may be the sign of someone working to sabotage NERV from within.'_

The spider of NERV crouched within his lair, a shadow in a cavernous room, peering callously down upon any who dared intrude into his tangled web. His face was a stone slate without emotion, eyes hidden behind orange lenses, as he sat in the darkness, brooding over events as he played a game of chess with his old teacher, hands steepled before his face to add yet another layer of mystery to him.

"Check," voiced the elderly Sub-Commander Kōzō Fuyutsuki, right hand and confidant to his former student. "Yesterday, a complaint came to me directly from Chairman Keele. He was most displeased, and towards the end, hinted at your dismissal."

A moment of silence, as the bearded raptor considered his next move, moving up a pawn to deal with the moment's annoyance.

"Adam is going well," the Commander spoke, his true expression unreadable. "As for the Eva project, it is unfortunate that we have not been able to work on the Dummy Plug, with the current status of the First Child. What are the old men of SEELE complaining about?"

SEELE. The group which had offered Fuyutsuki the choice of joining NERV in "creating a new future mankind" or "disappearing," the group that had caused Second Impact and now planned for a Third, veiled under the innocent name of "Human Instrumentality Project."

"They are most concerned about the unexpected shifts in the scenario, especially the assertion that the Third may be a hacker of inordinate skill," the former professor said, grimacing with distaste as he remembered how the Pluto's Kiss incident had come not long after Second Impact, leading to further pandemonium. "It is all the more disturbing that this accusation was apparently delivered by someone within Headquarters, the Second Child."

Another series of quiet moves over a nearly even board.

"It seems that Pilot Soryu has nearly overstepped the limits of her usefulness," Gendo noted dispassionately, surveying his position once again. "As Dr. Akagi reports, her psychographs have been irregularities as of late, with Section 2 observing degradation in her façade. Have that man investigate her and her relationship with the Fourth, as well as the new teacher at Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, a certain Yumi Aranami. Her background is rather atypical of her position as a simple instructor."

The professor acknowledged with a simple nod, then tried one last gambit to unseat his opponent from his position.

"Speaking of that man, how shall we deal with him?" he asked wearily, knowing what the response was likely to be.

"Let him do as he likes for now, as we can make use of him," said the shadow that ruled over NERV, as he finished the match. "Checkmate, old friend."

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

Cleaning duty. An almost universally despised chore that most students would do nearly anything to get out of, as it involved a good deal of physical labor. Even under the regime of Aranami-sensei, the teacher who allowed her class to play The World as part of their learning experience, the reign of terror of Class Representative Hikari Horaki continued unabated, her schedules and her angry words enough to cow even the most rebellious of problem students.

Especially so after rumors of the altercation at the gate had spread, growing with each retelling until if one believed all of them, Asuka Langley Soryu would be dead several times over, with any gangs in the area ready to swear loyalty to their pigtailed empress. The reasons for the clash of titans also differed from person to person, with some calling it simply an inevitable collision of opposites, some claiming that Asuka was a hacker and being punished for her crimes, and some even saying that they were fighting over the Third Child, since he had been seen with each of them in the past.

'_Not that I didn't enjoy giving Soryu a taste of the pain she's given others…'_ the pigtailed girl thought as she played out her assigned role during the day, enduring looks of fear and curiosity, responding to instant messages about the incident (if she did at all) with a simple "no comment."

Then Aranami-sensei had dropped a verbal nuke, stunning the class into silence with the announcement that neither Rei Ayanami nor Reimeiki Hakubo would be attending for a while, as both had been hospitalized, and the date of their return was as yet unknown.

The gathered students were much more subdued after that, as Morganna gave a more traditional lecture covering some of the unknown history of The World, beginning with its prototype _Fragment, _and its creator, Harald Hoerwick, who she had apparently known. She covered the background of the relationship between Harald and Emma Wielant, as well as expounding on the link between Aura and the mythical Twilight Dragon.

"And then there is the case of the sprite Lilith, who saved the seekers from the ancient monster Cubia," she concluded, something that was almost amusement in her eyes. "Once loyal to the Dark, she abandoned them to join the three who sought the Twilight Dragon…in essence, something of a fallen angel."

Hikari performed the ritual of the "Stand, Bow, Sit", and class was dismissed for the day, with herself and the Third Child staying behind for cleaning duty. Aranami-sensei had entrusted the classroom to them, wished them both good luck, and then left, claiming prior commitments, leaving the two dothackers alone with one another.

Except for the sound of their breathing, the room was silent.

'_I just hope this doesn't add to the rumors that say I fought Asuka for the sake of Ikari-kun…that would be embarrassing. I just have a few things to discuss with him.'_

"Neither Soryu nor her grey-haired boyfriend showed up today," the pigtailed girl observed, walking over to one of the computers and switching it on. "I don't know who he is, but he seems rather strange in how easily he can control Soryu. And he looks…he looks like Ayanami."

"He's nothing like her," Shinji replied flatly, bristling at the very suggestion. "At least, not in the way he acts. He has a constant air of enigma mingled with malevolence about him…did you know that he asked me if I thought Ayanami would be better off in a coma? The only one who has ever done that was Asuka, and she's the one who…"

The brown-haired boy trailed off, as his point was already abundantly clear to his audience.

"He did?" Hikari asked, taken aback by the grey-haired boy's lack of tact. Well, that wasn't too surprising for the Children actually, considering that three of the four had problems with normal social interaction. "That's odd, it's almost like he had something to do with it…either that or he has some other motivation for asking that."

"I don't know," the Third said, considering his options. "Aranami-sensei did talk about an AIDA-PC called Siarl of the Seven Eyes who matches Nagisa's description, so it's possible, but it still seems like getting rid of Ayanami is something Asuka would have done, since she says she hates dolls and blue-haired people. Speaking of which, isn't it odd that she would spend time with Nagisa, since he looks like someone she hates?"

Hikari pursed her lips in thought as she pondered that particular point.

"That _is_ odd…they met at NERV, I imagine, but why would they get along?" she mused aloud. "And how can he just stop her like that without her showing any resentment? The last time I remember her talking about a male, it was the one she called a real man, 'Kaji.' It's almost like she's possessed or something."

"Well…she _is_ infected with AIDA," Shinji allowed uncertainly, "but shouldn't that make her even more violent towards him? After all, in The World…"

"Yeah, I don't understand it myself, but then, there's a lot about AIDA we don't understand," the brown-eyed girl sighed, shaking her head as she loaded up the forums for The World, just to check on the rumors there. Instantly, some of the threads caught her eye, and not in a particularly good way. "Ikari-kun, your title is the 'Dark Evangel', right? There are some threads that have popped up on the forums saying that the PKs you fought never returned to The World, with rumors about them being in comas."

"This must be Asuka's doing," the Third muttered under his breath, moving over to look over the Class Rep's shoulder. Just then, a chill went down his spine as he recalled the grey-haired boy's earlier words—words that he had forgotten till now due to his shock and fatigue. "Wait…didn't Nagisa say he reported us to the World Network Council? Well, probably just me."

"_What?! _But, Ikari-kun, if they find you guilty, that's a death sentence," Hikari breathed, the blood draining out of her face. "We have to—"

The Class Representative stopped, unable to think of what to do, as Shinji found himself frowning at the vile tactic.

"Do what? I can't exactly stop doing what I do," he said quietly but firmly, a cast of determination in his features. "While you were waiting for me to wake up, I fought with myself for a long time, debating whether or not to continue down this road. And I made the decision that I don't have a choice…not if I want to be a Shinji Ikari who doesn't run away, who doesn't have to be ashamed of himself. Reimeiki-chan sacrificed herself to save me, so I'll save her even if I die in the process."

His eyes flashed in the dimming light of dusk as he looked up and clenched his fist, almost like his father for a moment.

"I defied Angels and AIDA, piloted EVA as humanity's sword and shield…I already risk death just by being a pilot," he spoke as if fatigued. "Death is already my companion—and so I'm not going to stop. I told myself that I would keep going until my last breath, even if I was reaching for the impossible. So bring on Asuka and her threats, bring on Nagisa and his mocking questions, bring on the World Network Council, and all the AIDA in The World. Nothing they can do to me now can compare to everything they've already done."

Such a display of resolve and spinal fortitude from the young Ikari caught the pig-tailed girl off guard, as she had only witnessed this kind of determination once: when he fought 'Gendor' in the Arena, a fight which had him facing his father. This was very much like the hero that the entirety of Class 2-A had assumed Shinji was (or fantasized about him being) since he first appeared and confirmed his identity as the pilot of the giant robot.

'_Ikari-kun is very different now from how he used to be,' _Hikari saw with a faint smile and a blush. _'He was never a coward, but now it seems he realizes this for himself. And it's kind of romantic how far he is willing to go for Reimeiki-chan…at the very least, I can make sure he doesn't have to walk the path alone.'_

"Then it's settled," declared Hikari Horaki, reaching out and closing her hand over one of Shinji's clenched fists. "You and I have both lost friends to AIDA…so we will fight the threat together, and together bring them back. Even Asuka, our enemy, bitch that she is, has Nagisa behind her supporting her, right? You can't do this alone, Ikari-kun, and I'm saying you don't have to."

Shocked beyond words by what the Class Rep had to say, Shinji just stood there taking it all in, albeit with some measure of incredulity.

"Horaki-san, I can't ask—" he began hesitantly.

But she cut him off with a simple hmph as she looked at him, brown eyes meeting blue.

"You don't have to, Ikari-kun," she said fiercely, the look in her eyes almost scaring him with their intensity. "Honestly, I don't know what to do with you sometimes. You say you're a coward who barely keeps himself from running away, and look at you, wanting to rush off alone against the enemy. I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, Ikari-kun…you've never asked for help before, and I don't think you ever will—but I'm saying you don't have to. Because we're friends, and friends don't let friends face danger alone. _**Is…that…clear**_?"

Now, contrary to the Second Child's insistence on constantly using the word 'baka' to describe him, Shinji Ikari was not stupid. Hence, after witnessing what Hikari had done to Asuka in a feat of unstoppable rage that mirrored his own exploits while in berserker mode, the Third Child decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

"Quite," he not-quite-gulped, going along with the Class Rep as she sat him down at one of the class computers. "So what do we do now?"

Even as he asked, he was almost instinctively booting up the PC, which as part of the startup sequence loaded "The World: R2."

"Simple," Hikari said with a nigh-demonic grin that would have fit her Tomoyami persona to a T. "Since we're going to be working together to save the coma victims, we have to get used to being around one another in The World, right? You said you'll see things through to the end, so I'm going to help you get stronger—because if you can't beat me, how will you beat Asuka?"

"You have a point there," Shinji conceded, knowing that between the two of them, she was still a little stronger in terms of combat abilities.

"Like her, I'm an infamous Chaotic PK, ruthless and without mercy," the Class Rep continued, slipping on her headset and entering The World. "And since you're supposed to be one of the most feared of all PKKs, we're going to train to get you up to my standards. Let's face it, we both need more experience fighting strange monsters and AIDA bugs, and we have to learn how the other's style and technique, we're going to the Outer Dungeons for a really intense, super secret training mission, just the two of us."

With a nod and a couple of blinks, Shinji agreed, slipping on his M2D headset and logging in.

'_You've earned my trust, now don't disappoint me, Dark Evangel…'_

'_Thanks for the support…Hikari.'_

* * *

**Kaji's Apartment**

Contrary to one might expect of him from his flirtatious, womanizing behavior when he was on duty, Ryoji Kaji was actually a rather solitary man, dedicated to his ideal of finding the truth—a mission he realized might very well get him killed one day, though he had accepted that risk when he became a spy. Though he seemed reckless and carefree, this façade was rather carefully composed, as if to throw off anyone who might see him as a possible threat to his plans.

In reality, he was both more cunning and more insightful than most people gave him credit for, sometimes regretting the actions he had to take to further his personal quest. He was always busy doing at least three things at once (usually involving his job as a Agent for NERV, SEELE, and the Japanese Ministry of the Interior), and now he had pledged his aid to yet another faction, one that seemed to share his interests, while knowing everything about him.

'_I have never found myself in such a disadvantageous position in the past,' _he thought, amused by the way that Helba had essentially backed him into a corner. _'She knows of SEELE,NERV, the Angels, my identity, and a great deal else. Truly she is a master at her craft.'_

At the very least, after a long search, the master spy had indeed found an individual who could aid him in his search, if she didn't choose to toy with him as did the Commander and the Committee. When he set off on his quest to attract a hacker or information broker on the outside, he had not expected to encounter Helba, the legendary Queen of the Dark herself, nor for her to already know about him. It was…most discomfiting, even if she was an ally.

'_It seems that I have some new data on the Marduk Institute though, but it will have to wait until I enter my study, the most secure spot in this apartment.'_

With that, the unshaven spy came to the door and opened it, his eyes darting about as he entered, checked for signs of intrusion or tampering. In his line of work, it paid to notice details, and killed if one were even the least bit amiss. However, there was a balance between paranoia and practicality, so after a brief examination involving both a visual inspection and using a miniature electronic bug detector to do a sweep of the place, he headed to his study, where he slumped down at his chair and booted his computer.

'_So, the 107__th__ corporation out of 108 connected to the Marduk Institute also turns out to be a dummy corporation, with the same list of directors as the others. I might have known—so essentially, the Commander or the committee chooses who will become the next Child. How fascinating…'_

This reminded him of his latest assignments, which he found to be rather curious. The first, using his relationship with the Second Child to find out what was happening with her and the Fourth Child, would prove simple enough, but the second was somewhat puzzling. His task there was to investigate the background of a new teacher at Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, a certain Yumi Aranami, as she was suspected having a connection with the First Child going into a coma.

'_Unless she is connected with AIDA, I do not think that is a possibility,' _the spy thought, somewhat troubled by this assignment. '_Given the_ _status of the First, there should be no reason why she remains comatose otherwise…do they perhaps think that this Aranami is a…hacker of some sort. She comes to Tokyo-3 in the middle of the Angel War, and soon after, my attempts to find a hacker as an ally are replied to by the best in The World. Could Aranami possibly be Helba, given her strange curriculum? This bears investigation…'_

And then the phone rang, bearing with it an unfamiliar voice.

"Greetings, Fili," the contact spoke. "This is Bith the Black, assistant to the Dark Queen of our mutual acquaintance. As per the agreement, you are asked to go to the seashore and observe the river of all in person. In exchange, I tell you this, within the end of doctrine rests the night sprite pursued by the Dark, a fellow traveler to those who quest, never to return. Apeiron lies elsewhere."

Whoever it was hung up, leaving Kaji alone with his thoughts once more.

'_So…Helba as well wishes for me to investigate the Second and Fourth Children, and the relationship between them? At least it is the same mission as Ikari has ordered, so it should be simple enough to do. And in…the end of doctrine…Terminal Dogma…one can find…Lilith, the Second Angel. The Second Angel, not the First? Apeiron, the King of Light…thus Adam, is still to be found. Perhaps the Commander is keeping it to himself? In any case, this partnership is already paying major dividends...'_

But something else nagged at him as well.

_'Just who is Bith the Black, and how did he get this number?'_

* * *

**Askua's Apartment**

Meanwhile, in another part of Tokyo-3, the Second Child was most displeased. She had been humiliated by that bitch of a Class Representative just for putting a hacker in her place, subjected to a bevy of tests and examinations in what Dr. Akagi called a physical, called into the Commander's office for a reprimand that left her seething, and now…now she was completely alone again, in her sterile little room in the GeoFront.

She had tried calling Kaji, but only succeeded in getting his answering machine—either he was out, or on the phone with someone else, and either way useless to her at the moment. And even Kaworu wasn't present, as he had been dragged off to yet another special sync test with Unit-00.

'_Why are you never around when I need you, Kaji?' _Asuka whined to herself, muttering as she made her way over to her computer. If there was nothing else to do, she would simply have to go into The World to vent some anger. _'At the very least, I can spread more of those rumors on the forums and message boards to make playing The World unbearable for that baka Shinji!'_

Logging in, she could see that the seed topics she had planted were now bearing fruit, with the rumor mill self sustaining as one piece of gossip fueled another, a veritable chain reaction that she hoped would soon blow up into a scandal.

Going into The World proper now, she immediately gated to a field where newbies were known to congregate, and to her delight encountered a few blue-haired players. Stepping from the shadows, she drew her weapon, calling upon the full power of AIDA to bolster her demonic appearance.

"Hehehe…prepare to die, you fools…for I am the Dark Evangel come to KILL YOU ALL," she roared, loosing her AIDA spears to slay each weakling in a single blow—save one, as she needed him to spread the terror.

'_Yes…if what this power did to that hacker is anything to go by, people will have proof that the '_Dark Evangel_' has turned evil, and is turning people into Lost Ones. There will be no escape, even for you, as soon as the World Network Council has the 'proof' I will supply, you so-called invincible BAKA! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!'_


	42. Login 17: Splintered Liminalities

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Splintered Liminalities**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

The Mistress of Net Slum stood alone on the grand bridge in the center of her domain, brown eyes gazing out over The World she had once sworn to protect, pondering what it meant to be Queen of the Dark, to play the role she did. The forbidden force of Chaos to counter stifling Order, giving sanctuary to those who were persecuted by the system—as long as they truly loved The World, and did not try to mar its beauty with actions born of greed and loathing.

'_Just as CC Corp did by trying to wrest control of the network by crowning one of their own as a god…fools…' _the regal woman in red thought to herself, as she considered the new form of both The World and herself. Though she was still Queen of the Dark, her character had changed. No longer that of a blond Sorceress in White, she was now a powerful blademistress whose sword sang as it sliced their air, a dark-haired Lady of War better suited for commanding her army from the front lines, elegant and lovely to behold but deadly to confront. '_For his hubris,_ _he was maddened, unable to bear the power of 7 Epitaphs and an unstable forgery. And this World…'_

She sighed, summoning her heavily modified katana to hand and watching the way light played off its surface…but only for a moment before she put it away, as the feel of it was passing strange to her. Since the beginning of The World she had been someone who watched from the shadows, an enchantress whose name could very well be used to conjure miracles with.

'_The legacy of the Queen of the Dark is an interesting one…one spun from rumors and whispers around the Net,' _the hacker queen mused, wondering just what she would want people to remember of her. _'With the veritable incarnation of rumors and stories no more, the time to simply work from the shadows is no more…perhaps it is time to have a public front…a guild?'_

It was an interesting though, if not one she has considered before, but then, guilds had not been a driving force in the past, not as much as they might be now. The only major guild of note in R1 had been the Crimson Knights, and they had been disbanded by their founder after their ideals of justice became corrupted by a thirst for control, shifting from a guild created to mediate disputes to one that imposed order with intimidation and the weight of numbers.

'_An irony, that, since in the Epitaph of Twilight, the Crimson Knights served not Apeiron of Light, but Helba, Queen of the Dark,' _she noted, somewhat amused by their failing to note that particular example. _'Though, three of their number eventually found their path in the end: Crim, Subaru, and Silver Knight…three of those who fought beside Tsukasa against the guardians of Morganna.'_

The _clip-clop-clip-clop_ of quiet footsteps sounded from behind her, and Kaede turned to see young Zelkova standing before her.

"Hello, old friend," she greeted him with a smile. "It seems that we both are wearing new forms in this age of The World."

"So it seems indeed," the young boy responded, golden eyes and blue-silver hair almost glowing in the moonlight. "Yours suits you, as you are as regal as ever, with an appearance better suited for a Queen of the Dark."

"Is that so, Zelkova?" Kaede asked, tilting her head to the side. It was slightly strange to look upon the world without a literal mask, though her persona was close enough. "You have the markings of a young noble yourself, dear heir to Net Slum. And both of us are changed now, due to AIDA…"

"The shadows born of void…the Artificially Intelligent Data Anomalies," Zelkova filled in, a curious expression on his face. "I do wonder if they are so hostile only because all they have seen in this world is anger and hate. This World is far different from the old one, having become a World where players hunt one another for sport, where old legends fade out of memory and time, where camaraderie has gone the way of the Goddess…vanished, they say, to the winds._"_

"Indeed, for like any child, it learns from its surroundings," acknowledged the regal woman in red. "When the first AIDA opened its eyes, did it see a player-killer, I wonder? It is altogether too likely in this place that lacks subtlety, where the blade is more a symbol of authority than the staff. Even we, of the shadows, are no longer wavemasters or clerics, but warriors of the sword and scythe."

Both of them glanced at the weapons they wielded with a twist of their lips. And for a brief few seconds, they were silent as they considered where they stood now in this brave new world—before the Blade Brandier Kaede broke the silence.

"Zelkova, I have a task for you that I believe you will enjoy," the Queen of the Dark continued with with one of her enigmatic smiles. "I believe that it is time to influence the people of The World more directly, to try to bring a semblance of harmony and peace to this PK-ridden place, restoring it to something more like the Golden Age."

"Interesting," the Flick Reaper replied, narrowing his eyes. "What did you have in mind, my Queen?"

"Let us form a guild," the Mistress of Net Slum declared, gesturing at the expanses below. "A guild that teaches noble ideals to temper the quest for power, which listens to the masses and gives them protection from the fear that clouds The World, as moonlight wraps around my blade, giving it a softer shape. And let us call it Moon Tree…"

"Moon Tree," Zelkova repeated, lips curling into a small smile as the layers of meaning became very clear. "Also called…Tsuki no ki, or Zelkova, after the tree representing patience, tolerance, peace and harmony, the rock of a new world…I do believe I approve. A name that is both a pun and an apt description…a clever choice of words, as expected from the Mistress of Net Slum."

"I am glad you agree, as you are to be Guildmaster," the former Helba replied, giving the young boy a mock curtsey. "A role in which you will be able to once again spread rumor and hear stories openly, _Lord_ Zelkova."

Zelkova's head probably violated some law of motion as it whiplashed around to look his queen squarely in the eye.

"What?" he questioned, stunned by her wish to appoint him as the head of a guild, especially one founded based on her desires. The Queen of the Dark had already given him far too much honor for one of his rank, one who she had sheltered for a long time. "You do not wish the honor for yourself, to protect The World you so dearly love?"

To this, the Mistress of Net Slum only laughed, a gentle, almost sad sound unlike her usual knowing laugh, and soon even that faded to a brittle, worn look in her eyes.

"As I said once when I appointed you my heir to this…Paradise, I fear my time grows short, that the day is coming when I may have to leave this World behind, or at least, when I cannot be as active as I was and am now," she said softly, reaching up to ruffle the AI's hair. "And as I am fond of saying, there is an order The World desires, and one I may desire, but ultimately, I yield to The World. In that, I leave my legacy to you when I pass on, as both a master of Net Slum and a guildmaster of what will likely prove a powerful guild. You are of one world, while I am of two, with pressures in each and a final gambit to play. And should not one who wove legends in time become a legend himself, as the writer of the Epitaph has?"

"Then I accept the honor," the former Rumor whispered, looking down demurely, brows knit in confusion. "But what will your role be in this new world?"

"To guide and observe from the shadows," was the quiet, but emotional reply. "To protect The World as I have for many years, and otherwise do as I must in the circumstances we find ourselves in. A great storm brews, and a wave rears its head once more, and this time, I do not wield staff of Helba but the blade of a lady of war. This is the essence of practicality and balance, what my new name means, and a promise for the future. You must know of how little those in the outer world have planned…hence when Aura vanished, all was plunged into chaos. When Pluto Again occurred, there was great fear…and now the World Network Council, eager to redeem themselves after their failings five years ago, are pouncing upon these new incidents as a cat upon cream."

As might be expected from a hacker of extraordinary skill, Helba's private opinion of most of CC Corp and the World Network Council was essentially that they were pig-headed idiots, rejecting what they did not understand.

'_Did not Emma Wielant write that "When the finger points to the yonder moon, the fool will look at the fingertip?" And yet that is what they do, looking for an immediate cause, rejecting change simply because they do not desire it or cannot control it. Hence the ALTIMIT OS lost its reputation, and the first version of The World was forever lost…'_

"Yes, I understand," the heir to Net Slum acknowledged, as his opinion of most of those who had destroyed his first home not any higher than his queen's. "So I am to establish an HOME and create a Grunty to help me manage it in the Eternal City then?"

"Indeed, and I have summoned an old friend to assist us," the Queen of the Dark replied smoothly, as the chime of a gate-in sounded on the bridge, bearing with the inevitable golden rings two individuals: the form of a winged knight in shining armor, and a young blonde-haired girl dressed in a very revealing white outfit with a large white witch hat. "A weaver of legends and a legend himself, even if both have mostly been forgotten in this world, not even been a year since last we spoke…Balmung of the Azure Sky, and…W.B. Yeats. I believe you both know my associate Rumor, or Zelkova as he is now called?"

The white-haired man's eyebrow twitched, though he remained largely unphased by the commentary of the Queen of the Dark, as he was somewhat familiar with her due to their interactions over the years. Meanwhile, the two spinners of tales, Hokuto and Rumor, gave each other a nod and smile in recognition, as they had been rather familiar with each other just a year before, during the time of the second bearer of the bracelet, Shugo Kunisaki.

"Well well, it's been some time, Rumor," the young girl spoke softly. "It is good to see you…I wondered what became of you after the fire."

"Indeed it has, Hokuto," commented the boy with golden eyes. "And I am well due to my queen's intervention, as she saved us all in Net Slum. I see that as ever, you continue to write in your other persona. How is the warrior with eyes like the stars?"

"Al is the same as always," Hokuto replied with a wry smile. "And I don't log in as I used to, since this version does not hold my interest as well, not being based on the Epitaph. But this place is isolated from the flow of time, where data lies resting…"

"Apparently, I am to change The World and bring it closer to the world of past," Zelkova commented, drawing an interested look from the young net-poet.

While those two conversed, Balmung of the Azure Sky looked over the dark-haired woman before him, noting the robes of red, and the many other changes to the form.

"You certainly look different from when we last spoke," the Descendant of Fianna observed curiously. "I am pleased to see that Net Slum survived the disaster caused by Amagi, though I did not expect to see your form so changed."

"Had you seen me but a few days prior, I would have appeared as I did then," spoke the Mistress of Net Slum. "Certain events have made retaining that appearance impossible—the threat of a new Wave of sorts. You will have heard of the new outbreak of Lost Ones and my contact with Hino?"

"Indeed," the white-haired knight replied, "And so I have come at your request. Now then, since you have called me here, what does the Dark Queen wish of me?"

"In your words, Balmung," the legendary hacker spoke, "I wish restore this world to the glory of the age of Aura, and to ensure it is protected from the new threat of AIDA, but I fear I cannot do it alone. Will you lend me your aid as in the past, System Administrator? To be the bulwark should I fall?"

"Certainly, upon my word as a dothacker."

* * *

**Σ Server, Dual City Breg Epona**

As did the streets of any city, the root town of Breg Epona buzzed with rumors and speculation, only the sort passing through this city did not largely concern items or quests, but rather abnormal players, with a focus on a certain three, a 'Dark Evangel', a Tomoyami of the Shadow, and a red robed 'Ghost Girl' that few knew anything about. In the case of the 'Dark Evangel', the towns and forums had been alight with wild conjectures about his possible connection with the cases of players unable to login again.

From what was known, 'Dark Evangel' was certainly a fitting title for the messenger of darkness who had apparently been responsible for the recent major PK incidents, including a particularly infamous PKK episode where an entire field of PKs had been eliminated in a single blow. Now, the Dark Evangel, though often compared to a grim reaper, was no Flick Reaper, and thus should not be able to engage a large number of foes at once. Granted, there were exceptions, particularly if he had been training with the legendary Chaotic PK Tomoyami of the Shadow…or if he was a vicious hacker who struck not with weapons but viruses. Given reports of his recent demonic appearance, even the more skeptical ones had to concede that that was possible…

"No, that cannot be," objected a hulking golden Lord Partizan with red sunglasses. He was standing at the corner of a square, engaged in a debate with an Edge Punisher by the name of Midori, a woman who had recently changed from heartless PK to a professional 'victim', who was paid varying sums of money for varying amounts of time in which a PK might attempt to kill her - with most going without success, given her prowess in battle. "Although the Dark Evangel shrouds himself within the deepness darkness known to man, there is yet justice to be seen in his eyes. I am proud to call he of fair eyes a friend, upon whom the stars may shine until the end of the journey, for he, as a fellow defender of justice, would never be allied with villainy!"

So gushed the Dull, Swift Doberman the magnificent eagle man of blue cloudy weather, the great golden warrior of justice — Piros the 3rd! (In his typical over the top manner that rivaled the Commentator at the Arena, and generally scared or disturbed the people he was with, of course).

The Edge Punisher, a black-haired swordswoman clad in a loose flowing dress like the petals of a flower, took the opportunity to back off, as the titan of gold was somewhat invading her personal space.

"If…if you say so, Piros," she conceded, more than a little troubled by the actions of the graphics programmer. "But I think you will be more interested in the other piece of information I have to offer, concerning a strange silver-haired 'Ghost Girl' clad in red robes, wandering both blind and mute through the fields as if searching for something that can never be found. I could not identify her as a known character class."

"So, an illegal character is it?" the Swift Doberman inquired shrewdly. "In that case, leave it to me, for I of shining body and gushing sweat will spring into action to confront this grave threat to the world, for I am… Piros the 3rd!"

Mercifully, the flash mail arrival tone chose that moment to sound, keeping the Lord Partizan from saying anything to further scare off those in the vicinity. It was apparently a request for his aid in the Arena by none other than the Adept Rogue Skari, the latest "he of fair eyes."

"Wahahahaha!" the golden man laughed, "At last, a chance to redeem myself in the Arena, as the shimmering brow of justice hidden by my mask will never allow evil to exist! Hmm?"

He was interrupted by a young female Twin Blade, his sometimes friend from the original version of The World who wore a somewhat revealing one piece outfit in blue, though her most distinguishing features were her permanently shut eyes and her olive-green hair, with one long strand in particular standing on end and forming a sort of question mark above her head.

"Did you get a message too?" she asked demurely, almost hesitant to get close to the strange man.

Seeing her, the Edge Punisher standing nearby narrowed her eyes, as the Twin Blade seemed very familiar to those in her business…

"Forgive me if I'm mistaken…but aren't you Natsume the Chaotic PK?" Midori asked bluntly, noting the similar, if not identical name and style of dress.

"Hm?" responded Piros the 3rd, looking between his friend and the informant before settling on the young Twin Blade. "Wh-what? Don't tell me that you were involved in such a nasty and scurrilous business!"

"What?" Natsume reeled in shock, backing off slightly. "No, no, of course I wasn't! I get a bad case of the shivers just hearing the word PK!"

'_There is something very strange about this girl…'_

"Yes, indeed," affirmed Piros, somewhat reassured. "And even if you were a PK I'm sure I wouldn't be afraid of you at all!"

The young Natsume pouted, not particularly liking the golden giant's choice of words.

"You know, it kind of hurts hearing it put that bluntly…"

"Anyway, yes, as it so happens I did get a message from the lad with good eyes," the heavily armored behemoth admitted, finally around to answering the question. "And I have decided that both you and I will accept the request for aid."

"Wh-what?" the green-haired girl yelped, startled. "We only met each other one time after the battle, and never since! Why are you always deciding stuff like this without asking me?"

Of course, among Piros' "virtues", one would not often find charm or patience…

"Enough!" ordered the Lord Partizan. "Have you not heard it said that men must be charming and women must be bold? Cease your vacillations! We will attend to matters in the Arena before the fall of night!"

"Oh, oh well, fine," she conceded, shaking her head as she turned towards the Chaos Gate. "But am I really useful? I feel like I'm just in the way of things..."

"Nonsense," declared the great Piros the 3rd (whose name made people who remembered the original Piros wonder if there had ever been a Piros the 2nd, or if the name had simply been chosen to make people puzzle over that). "Be of stout heart, my fellow dothacker, as you and I are both warriors of justice!"

With that, both of them bounded off to the gate and vanished into rings of azure light, but not before Piros boomed out his farewell:

"It was good to meet you, lady Midori! May the glitter of stars be always upon your head at all times!"

The sudden departure of the Swift Doberman and the Edgemaniac left a sudden silence in Breg Epona, but one that was most welcome, as the presence of the former was unpleasant, according to most. Then again, there were always the inevitable one or two (dozen) players who could be found in a corner laughing hysterically after the titan passed, so it all evened out.

Still, even the wake of his disruptive presence was not enough to keep the flow of conversation from returning to the previous topics: the mysterious Dark Evangel and the red-robed ghost girl. It was speculated that one or both of them had something to do with the rash of real-world incidents where people were discovered comatose while playing The World. Granted, it was far-fetched that a player could (or would) do such a thing, but it was not completely out of the question in this violent world.

'_However, it is strange not to have heard from the Bringer of Strife in so long,'_ Midori mused, as her fellow PK, a figure notorious for her strength of both hatred and arms, usually made waves. Indeed, Eris exemplified the ideal that an Edge Punisher existed simply to destroy, or so it seemed to most who encountered her. _'I do wonder what she is planning.'_

In the distance, an odd Blade Brandier passed by, reflecting on how similar this situation was to a time five years in the past, when a young wavemaster had been the center of so many rumors, with the ensuing chaos eventually leading to the awakening of Aura, as well as the Terror of Death, Skeith. It had been some time since he had encountered any of that first group of heroes, even the one who he had called Lady Subaru, the leader of knights he had sworn to protect. For the Blade Brandier was himself a former Crimson Knight, his character clad in red-purple cloth overlaid with steel plates, together with a horned helmet with red eyes.

'_Upon my honor,_ _I will find this Dark Evangel and investigate the circumstances, watching, and later lending my aid, if I am permitted to do so…_'

* * *

**Cemetery, Tokyo-3**

He knelt in the midst of a desolate plain, a place dotted here and there with grave markers stretching to the horizon. It was as vast and endless like the land in his dreams, the post-apocalyptic world where all that remained of humanity were the artifacts left behind by the ravages of war—or simply cataclysm in this case.

'_Would this graveyard be so full if not for Second Impact?' _he wondered to himself, a question that would likely never be answered. _'And of a person's life, what remains after they pass on? The things they leave behind, or something else, memories, a legacy that cannot be forgotten?'_

But in the sea of testaments to the fact that the people here had once existed, Shinji Ikari looked upon a single grave, one inscribed simply with the name of his mother, and the dates "1977-2004", marking only when she had been born, and when she died.

'_As if that were all that was important in life, the time of birth and the time of loss, but it is not…for in each moment we forge our destines by the choices we make, the people we meet, the things we do. What is on earth is not as important as what we have in our minds…and as long as we do not cast off the indispensable truth of our existence, we can go on. You told me that, Father, when we fought in the Arena…'_

"It has been three years since we last visited here together," the older Ikari spoke into the silence, a sharp black silhouette against setting sun.

"I ran away back then, and I haven't come here until now," Shinji admitted, traces of regret in his voice. "But this grave…its nothing but a decoration, isn't it? I remember that day in GEHRIN, when mother died…there was no body. It makes it difficult to remember mother's face."

"It is true…there is nothing left, that people live by forgetting—"

"Save what is inside us, the indispensable truth we cannot exist without," the Third Child completed, rising to his feet as he turned to face his father.

"Correct," admitted the Commander of NERV, his face blank as always. "Yui taught me that, and so I come here to reaffirm that."

"And that is why you do not need any photos, why you could toss everything away," responded Shinji, who had a better grasp of his father's psyche than he once did. "Because everything is in your mind, and for now, you are satisfied with that."

A soft "Hm" was the only reply, as a NERV VTOL descended from the sky to pick up the Commander.

"It is time, I am leaving," he said, turning away.

"Father…" the Third Child called out to him, causing the other to look back. "It was good to talk with you today, to reaffirm a truth you taught me not too long ago. I won't chase after you anymore…Father."

"Is that so?"

* * *

**Θ Hidden Forbidden Virgin Peaks, Six Ringing Peaks of Al Fadel**

It seemed that today, the demonic Bringer of Strife was not on a wild PKing frenzy, having instead decided to return the place where her power was said to spring from: the Lost Ground of Al Fadel, the highest mountain in all The World, granting to anyone who managed to scale it the truth of all things, a sort of enlightenment that would allow him or her to transcend weakness and become like a god.

'_The last time, I came with another, and that bitch must have taken half of the power if she was able to wound me so grievously. For she wielded elemental light as I do the shadow, and if the silver-haired bitch had not chosen to protect that useless baka Shinji, she might have proved a greater annoyance—and thus, I come again to Al Fadel to claim its true power for myself alone.'_

Not that it was the easiest of tasks to ascend the holy mountain, especially alone, since the presence of high-level creatures, and tricky footing combined with the fierce onslaught of the wind about the sheer cliffs conspired to knock aspiring climbers from their perches. But for Eris, who had already claimed the power of AIDA, it was more or less a simple feat to slay those in a single blow.

'_Were it only so easy to destroy the baka once and for all. His friends make that difficult, humiliating me in both worlds—so I'll simply have to destroy them one at a time, after I get more power. Or perhaps during the next Angel battle, EVA-02 will simply misstep, and some accidental collateral damage will occur. That is, after all, a part of a war for survival, and when one is the savior of humanity, certain questions are not asked…'_

A dangerous smirk graced Eris' warped and twisted face as the summit drew into sight, its stark black crags jagged against the misty shroud of cloud wisp that shielded its existence from those far below. Seeing this, she redoubled her speed, using the power of her AIDA tentacles to secure her footing this time (unlike what happened last time she braved the mountain, she did not feel like tumbling down to the halfway point again).

_Clang! Clang! Clang!_ the spears shot out, digging into the rocks as the Edge Punisher hauled herself up and up, till with a last heave, she flung herself triumphantly over the ridge, reaching the very pinnacle of the mount. Taking a deep breath to commemorate the moment of victory, she looked around as the clouds parted below to reveal the true splendor of The World in all its beauty, the many patchwork fields surrounded by the Morrigu Barrow Wall.

'_And this is The World…the place that I shall rule with my power, becoming nigh unto a goddess, unlike the little pretender in red who tried to usurp my might. For I, having reached this point, will never be defeated…I, the Bringer of Strife, will never die! HAHAHA—eh?'_

A footstep crunched behind her, and faster than she could whirl about, someone stood at her shoulder, his two familiar razor-tipped war fans a silent reminder of her enigmatic companion's strength.

"I had my suspicions you might return to his place, Eris, Bringer of Strife," a certain honeyed voice whispered from behind. "So you have come to claim the remainder of the power of Al Fadel?"

Hearing that voice, the Chaotic PK grit her teeth in irritation, as somehow the grey haired youth named Siarl, a Macabre Dancer in silver and black robes, holding a set of silver fans with seven eyes embossed on each, had managed to beat her to this destination.

'_How does he do this?' _she seethed silently. _'How does he manage to know exactly what I want, and when I will be there?'_

"Yes, I have," the Edge Punisher stated flatly, forcibly repressing her anger and discomfort lest Siarl decide to attack her. Though she had never fought him with her newfound power over shadow, she somehow had the feeling he would still not be a easy foe to defeat. "Just how do you always find me, and will you give what I seek without another test of yours, Siarl?"

"The answer should be simple," replied the grey-haired youth. "If you are an aspiring goddess, then I suppose you could call me an Angel, a being who is destined to live forever by the blessing of the Fruit of Life and Shadow. You could call me a reflection of yourself, or of the spirit of The World, as I have watched and learned from those within it. I am the voice of illusion dancing in the actuality, the strain of music upon the wind…the one who tests, and I say you have proven yourself worthy of the power I may grant."

"What do you mean by…an Angel?" the Chaotic PK repeated, turning around slowly to look the enigmatic 'free man' in the eye, gaze harsh and unforgiving. "And of course, I am worthy, I am powerful player in The World!"

"Ah, I realize I may cause some misunderstanding with the term, given the turmoil the world is in by the might of beings beyond the stars. But rest assured, I am not of the sort you Lilim are familiar with," was the enigmatic response, as the Macabre Dancer raised an eyebrow fractionally. "For though I possess the power to impact the world, I come only to guide and enlighten, to liberate it from its suffering, unlike a certain Dark Evangel who claims the title but has more selfish aims, or his dark brethren operating like dolls under a puppetmaster's strings. If you are to be a goddess, would not my characterization of self as Angel be correct? As a proof of my nature as a true messenger of divinity, I give you the power of a unyielding mirage."

An orb of corrupted molten light shimmered into existence with a warped musical tone, spiraling lazily about and slamming into the ground to reveal the form of an empty mirage, a steam gunner in black and silver robes etched with powerful magical runes, bayonet at her side.

"I grant you the power of a immortal servant…the AIDA Guardian Melchior."

* * *

**Café, Tokyo-3**

Back in Tokyo-3, the not-so-secret agent Ryoji Kaji was currently attending to an assignment he had been given as Special Investigator of NERV. To be specific, his task was to approach the teacher Yumi Aranami and to learn about her background—and of course, he saw no problem with mixing business with pleasure. It suited his façade, after all, and often, it was easier to find out about an individual if one could weasel one's way into their confidence, whether as a friend or a lover.

'_And that should not be an especially difficult thing to pull off, as I am relatively well known for my skills in that arena,' _the unshaven spy thought to himself, putting on his usual roguish grin as he approached the café where the dark haired woman sat alone, jotting her thoughts down in a journal of some sort as she watched the world around her. _'She appears to be waiting for someone…perhaps a lover or an informant?'_

So he wondered as he approached quietly, stepping quickly to the table where the former goddess sat, arriving just as she looked up expectantly and gave a soft 'hmph'.

"Excuse me," he said, putting on his charm. "But I couldn't help noticing that a beautiful woman like you was all alone in this place, waiting on another. As it so happens, I am waiting for someone too, so would you mind terribly if I were to wait with you?"

"No need for that," Morganna said smoothly, her lips twitching slightly into a smirk. "I am no longer waiting, you see, as you have finally arrived. You took longer than expected to make your approach."

_'This will be easier than I anticipated.'_

"Ah, waiting for me, were you?"

"Yes, of course..." was the simple response. "It was most convenient that you were ordered to investigate me, as it saves me the trouble of seeking you out, Special Investigator. This way we can meet without any undue suspicions from untoward others."

It was a good thing that one of the first rules of spycraft was to have a good poker face, or else Kaji would have let his faint surprise show on his face.

"So you know of me then?" the spy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Have we met in the past? Or our associates?"

"Our associates certainly, dear Fili."

* * *

**Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

Two figures stood at the Chaos Gate of the city of strife, both anxious and eager for the match that would soon take place. They were comrades, friends even, and they had trained together—but today was the day when fate would decide which of them would confront the Bringer of Strife in the finals, for they were to battle one another, and only one could come away victorious.

They stood there waiting for allies to arrive, the Dark Evangel and Tomoyami of the Shadow, two of the most rumored players in The World—a PKK and a Chaotic PK on relatively friendly terms, looking at each other as they shook hands.

"Don't hold back, Dark Evangel, because I surely will not," the pigtailed girl intoned as she waited. "You should know that well enough."

"Likewise, Tomoyami," the Adept Rogue spoke into the pocket of silence. "So come at me with everything you've got!"

A brusque nod, a wan smile, as the crowds thronged about the city, waiting for the hour of battle to arrive.


	43. Login 18: Shadowplay

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Shadowplay**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

The Arena—a place where even the most timid of players in The World would revel in the fierceness of battle, where each match was a trial by combat to determine the worthiness of a team to advance towards the exalted throne of Emperor. In this new world where strength and cunning were valued over simply the joy of escaping reality, even an unknown warrior could forge a legend with his or her own hands.

When Lumina Cloth was first revealed to The World, some had feared the fact that it was not connected to any fields, thinking at Omega Server in the new world would be a dull place, but that could not be further from the truth. Because of the relative sanctuary it offered from pursuers, it had come to fill the role of the now destroyed Cultural City Carmina Gadelica, the crossroads of The World, center to trade, gossip, and honorable combat.

Here, legends could be seen roaming the streets along with everyone else, as the Warring City State catered to those of all levels and ranks. Newbies besides Chaotic PKs, newbie-helpers besides feared PKKs…it was even rumored that hackers and Vagrant AIs often wandered the city in borrowed guises to while away the time or broker trades for information.

But as the central attraction of the city was the Arena, it was busiest on days when matches were scheduled between crowd favorites—days such as today, when Skari the Dark Evangel, the notorious PKK would face off against the legendary Tomoyami of the Shadow, said to be the strongest of Chaotic PKs. The pair had become two of the most respected and feared of all The World's players, known for their elegance, their strength in battle, and the strange ferocity they displayed when fighting supposedly superior foes.

'_It seems like only yesterday when we saved Skari from Eris in the Hulle Granz Cathedral,' _mused a certain jester-like Shadow Warlock, the newbie-helper Arano of Team Aida. _'And now, he is a dothacker fighting to save someone he loves. Speaking of that, I wonder if he's heard about the ghost wandering the fields of The World, who looks very much like Lycoris…'_

"Are you sure it's alright for all three of us to go and face Skari in the Arena?" he asked, not wanting to seem dishonorable, but at the same time not wanting to offend his party leader. Annoying one of the most powerful Chaotic PKs in The World tended to be a bad thing, especially when one was forced to spend a great deal of time with her by necessity. "I mean, I know he's strong and you want to make sure he can fight Eris, but I'm not sure he can take on the three of us at…"

He stopped cold as a couple of players walked past him towards the Arena Lobby, or rather, a titan lumbered by in heavy golden armor, while a small girl in a blue one piece outfit shyly followed along, as if walking on eggshells.

'_Are those…no way, they couldn't be…'_

"Wahahahaha!" the golden protector of justice laughed maniacally, "Come, fellow dothacker Natsume, He of Fair Eyes awaits us in the Arena!"

The green-haired girl with him just gave a simple nod as they warped out, rings of azure light whisking them away.

'_Can it really be…?'_

"What the…Natsume? Was that the Edgemaniac?" exclaimed Tribal Grappler Aruna, whose face had suddenly paled. "What's another Chaotic PK doing here? And who da heck was that walking tank?"

"Well, that answers your question, Arano," the pigtailed Flick Reaper Tomoyami of the Shadow said sharply. "We don't have to worry about Skari facing us alone in the Arena, since he found two battle companions. So you can fight without guilt now, right?"

But the blond little jester simply stood there, frozen in shock and gibbering incoherently.

"But…Edgemaniac…Chaotic PK…rare item fetish…"

With an annoyed rumble, Aruna poked his friend in the shoulder a couple times, and then when didn't work, elbowed him in the side—which worked to reboot Arano's higher brain functions, albeit with an extra dose of annoyance.

"What did you do that for Aruna?" the Shadow Warlock huff once he was back to normal. "Did you really have to hit me?"

"He hit you because you blanked out again and gentler methods weren't working," related Tomoyami, a strong believer in the tough love technique of showing others you care. (At least, that's how it often seemed with how she treated Aruna in both worlds). "All he did was say the word Edgema…" She cut herself off before Arano had another fit, took a deep breath and continued. "…you know what I want to say. Why are you so traumatized anyway?"

"…I don't want to talk about it," Arano responded, his already pale face losing even more blood than usual, till his skin was lighter than freshly fallen snow. "Let's just say that she isn't quite as nice or shy as she seemed just now, especially if you show her a rare item. And now we're going to be fighting her in the Arena, with _all of us wielding rare weapons. _We're so screwed…"

"Eh…he does have a point there," Aruna admitted, looking at his gauntlets, Tomoyami's scythe, and Arano's grimoire.

"Hey…aren't you two supposed to be the Invincible Perverts?" their Flick Reaper (and also Chaotic PK) companion asked in exasperation. "Look, we've fought 3 on 3 battles before, 1 on 1 battles…you've even beat Eris in the past. So really, is fighting Natsume that big of a deal?"

"But…but she's a dothacker!" Arano protested, hysterically trying to make Tomoyami see reason. "Part of the legendary party that solved The World's final mystery, AND she's a Chaotic PK. There's no way we can—"

_Crack! _Whether employed against the Bringer of Strife or a newbie helper, a sharp slap to the face usually served to shut most people up (excepting Siarl or his real life counterpart), and here it caused Arano to focus on the task at hand.

"She may be a dothacker, Arano, but _so are we," _the pigtailed girl said rather firmly. "The Queen of the Dark did not choose us because we were people who were unwilling to face what scared us. She chose us because she thought we had the courage to face our fears…will you prove her wrong? Don't you want to be worthy of the title of dothacker, and be able to defeat the demons without and within? The Angel Iruel would not have been defeated without our help, so take pride in that…the three of us have fought monsters beyond human ken, so why fear a PK?"

Then her expression shifted to one of those misleadingly dangerous Cheshire Cat smiles as she indicated herself with her hands.

"Besides, if you're going to worry about a Chaotic PK's wrath, wouldn't it be better to worry about the one next to you rather than the one you're fighting?" she asked in a sweet tone laced with arsenic. "After all, I'm about as well known as she is, and just about as vicious too…you saw what I did to Kaotin—and my class is specially made for taking on multiple opponents at once."

"Euh…this must be what they call being trapped between a rock and a hard place," Aruna muttered, scratching the back of his neck as he sighed. "Give it up Arano, if we face the other one, the worst that happens is we lose. If we don't, then the Class Rep makes our life a living hell. I'm not the brightest guy, but I think I know which one I prefer."

As if he had said exactly what she wanted to hear, Tomoyami turned toward the Tribal Grapper and gave him a brilliant smile that made him question whether or not he was already dead—such a heartwarming sight from the cold-hearted tyrant of their association was not possible, was it?

"See, Aruna understands," the Flick Reaper pointed out, her goodwill and amusement still evident. "Just for that, I'll bring you lunch tomorrow."

When Aruna turned to her questioningly, and Arano's eyes were revitalized with a glimmer of mischief, the pigtailed girl knew that she had to act fast or the rumor mill would be kicked into action again.

"D-d-don't take it the wrong way. It's not like I like you or anything," she huffed, crossing her arms and putting her nose in the air. "It's just that I always end up making too much food at home anyway, and since your friends do call you 'The Stomach', I figured that would be a good reward for good use of logic."

So she said anyway, words that were apparently effective enough at their task, as the little jester Arano burst out laughing at his friend, who flushed with a measure of embarrassment, and had just begun his counterattack noogie when she coughed, causing the two to leap apart.

"Come, comrades, if we have differences, let's settle them later, alright? For now, the Arena awaits."

**

* * *

**

**Arena Lobby, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

With a shimmer and a familiar chime, rings of azure light rippled into existence in the Arena Lobby, fading away a moment later to reveal the form of a hulking figure armored in gold, accompanied by a petite girl in blue: the former members of Team Graphics Unbelievable.

Waiting for them was a certain PKK by the name of Skari, a slender Adept Rogue with long silver-blue hair, crimson eyes, and pale skin, wearing silver robes with wisps and curls of red over a dark coat of mail. Dark Evangel, dothacker, and now Bearer of the Twilight Bracelet, he was a boy who had many times carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, who could be as gentle as the waves lapping on the beach, or as deadly as a tsunami crashing upon an unprepared village.

He was Skari, and he had sworn to bring back the Lost Ones, whatever it took. But he was not to be the one who spoke first, not if the great "champion of justice" Piros the 3rd had anything to say about it.

"Greetings to you, young man of good eyes," the golden Lord Partizan spoke, waving his arms expansively. "You, a partner in our quest to bring justice to The World, have called us here today, so please, do take us into your party and work us to the bone!"

"Um, hello, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Natsume," added the demure Twin Blade beside him. "I hope I'll be of use to you in your battle."

"Of course you will Natsume," the great Piros affirmed, "For you wish for happiness, and that wish is as important as the entire universe."

Skari chose to step in at this moment, lest the two get caught up in their own dialogue, forgetting he existed.

"When we faced each other in the Arena, Rumor mentioned that you were once dothackers, right?" the Adept Rogue asked quietly, his words causing both of his new companions to be quiet and pay attention. "Five years ago, during the Second Network Crisis…you knew a man named Kite, didn't you?"

"Haha, well of course," replied Piros, shooting a sly glance over to Natsume. "My dear old friend here has been stalking that dashing young man for the past few years. She's quite the clingy stalker."

Now Natsume knew the first rule of response when faced with an inconvenient truth, and much like old Shinji might have, she invoked it (for the record, its "deny, deny, deny").

"Wh-what are you talking about?" she sputtered, flushing lightly as she looked away. "I've never stalked anybody in my life!"

"There's no need to be embarrassed," the golden behemoth reassured her, before turning back to Skari. "But yes, I knew that one of fair eyes, ye of fine eyes. Then, I fought beside him as the great Silver White, as I am honored to fight beside you now as the Dull Swift Doberman!"

'_Does this Piros character have a thing for eyes or something…? And "dull, swift Doberman?"'_

"Then you fought with him, the Bearer of the Bracelet, against the Cursed Wave?" Skari asked intently, gripping his right arm self-consciously. "You were there in the fight to bring back the Lost Ones?"

"Why, yes I was," boasted the hulking titan of gold, his sunglasses flashing in the light of the Chaos gate. "I was even there at the final battle in the Net Slum, when the final Phase of the Wave was at last defeated."

"Then…do you know of Aura, the girl in white?"

"Hmm…you are surprisingly insightful for a simple player, ye of fine eyes," Piros answered, mentally reappraising the Dark Evangel. "Yes, according to the young man, she was one who granted him the power to save his friends. He said something about, salvation or destruction at the user's whim, as I recall."

'_Salvation or Destruction…that's exactly what Reimeiki-chan said to me…'_

"And do you know of her sister Lycoris, a silver-haired girl in red dress and cape?"

"Hmm…that sounds remarkably like the ghost girl rumored to be wandering the fields," the Lord Partizan recalled. "Almost like Aura indeed…"

"Ghost…girl?" Skari asked, eyes wide with realization and frantic energy. "Have you seen her? Do you know where she is?"

Seeing the shocked looks on the old dothacker's faces, Skari took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, closing his eyes.

"She's…" he began hesitantly, finding the situation hard to talk about with someone he didn't know well. _'But they're dothackers…they should understand.' "_The player behind her is…in a coma. And just before her consciousness disappeared, she gave me a Twilight Bracelet, saying those same words. You see…I'm a dothacker too, one of the new ones chosen by…the Queen of the Dark, Helba."

Skari figured that surely, that name would get a reaction from the old dothackers, and so it did, but from the quiet one this time.

"Helba?" repeated the Twin Blade Natsume, tilting her head and half-smiling, though her eyes, as ever, remained closed. "If what you say is true, then I guess I can be of use to you. You see, rare equipment just shows up in my inventory from time to time, and I'm convinced that it's all a strange prank by Helba, since who else would give me things? Anyway, I guess you can have this if you want…."

The petite green-haired girl withdrew an item from her inventory and proffered it to the Adept Rogue, revealing an ebon gunblade inscribed with golden runes, a weapon that even to Skari's eyes seemed to pulse with inner power. It was no surprise then that Skari reached out-and stopped, hesitating before taking it.

"Is it really ok for me to…"

"Take it," Natume insisted gently, slightly embarrassed. "If you are indeed a dothacker and a friend of Helba, you might as well. Helba will likely place something else in my inventory next time I'm not looking anyway."

Nodding once, the Adept Rogue reached out and took the new weapon, the level 78 Demon Slice, his eyes widening as he saw that the stats on it exceeded that of practically every other gunblade available to him (with the exception of the weapon he had acquired during the Inverted Castle run, and he was not yet of a level to use that particular gunblade). With an extra 25% of landing a critical blow, and an added darkness attack, on top of a very hefty attack, Demon Slice was nothing to scoff it, to put it mildly.

'_This outclasses even a normal level 130 weapon…' _he thought, awestruck but suddenly very thankful that he had thought to contact the old dothackers. _'It must be a simple thing for these legends to find and give away equipment of such rarity and power…but it will be useful, a demonic gunblade to match a demonic scythe...'_

"Thank you very much, Natsume," the Adept Rogue said with a smile, bowing slightly to show his deep gratitude. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Erm…if you could help me find Tri-Edge, I'd be grateful to you," the green-haired replied meekly.

"Heh…Tri-Edge…that player should be bound and worse," Piros scoffed, a hint of anger peeking out from behind his sunglasses.

"And what do you have against Tri-Edge?" Skari inquired of the overbearing Lord Partizan, not quite expecting the answer he received in response.

"It's good that you asked, ye of fine eyes, now listen to this," the self-declared Slow Doberman recounted from his own experience. "Let us say, in a completely hypothetical situation, that a graphic designer at a certain game company possessed the greatest confidence in his graphical creations, and that further he logged into his company's game to experience them in their native environment. But one day he saw something he couldn't believe right before his very eyes. His super-amazing ultra incredibly cool graphics that he slaved over for many waking hours had been all etched up with these hideous triangular monstrosities!"

The incredulous hulk was now ranting and raving, drunk with the fires of self-righteousness as he continued on.

"What blasphemy, what lunacy! Now, having transformed into a demon fueled by the fires of revenge, he searches the world for the culprit, and any others who dare to make illegal modifications to his graphical creations, springing into action faster than all!"

This time, Skari literally performed the technique known as a facepalm. Occasionally, it felt as if he were the only sane one among his friends, or the other players of The World, now that Lycoris and Skadi were both out of the picture. And although he accepted the wisdom and talents of the older dothackers as a given…Piros was seriously getting on his nerves.

"Is that story _really_ hypothetical?" he had to ask, beginning to understand why Tomoyami was so often exasperated with idiocy.

"But of course, I said it was, didn't it?" answered the man in gleaming golden armor. "But right now, I search for the ghost girl in red, whose existence I was tipped off to recently."

'_That…that might be Reimeiki-chan's form wandering The World, as Aranami-sensei said.'_

"I'll help you find Tri-Edge, but I have one condition," the Adept Rogue insisted, staring down the golden one.

"Name it."

"If you find the ghost girl, don't hurt her…let me know where she is instead…" he said at last. "Because…she's someone precious to me—both as the sister of Aura, and as someone I care about deeply."

Piros the 3rd sighed deeply, but nodded his assent.

"Very well, ye of fine eyes, we are of an accord," he said as warmly as he said anything else. "What a fine look in your eyes, such righteous fire and passion. Well then, Dark Evangel, shall we proceed onward to the Arena, where those unscrupulous opponents of yours await? I, the Slow Doberman, Piros the 3rd, am at your service."

"Well then, once again, I'm Natsume," the Twin Blade murmured to Skari. "I hope we work well together."

Without another word, all three of them disappeared into rings of azure of light, as the match was about to begin.

'_I…appreciate the support and the new weapon, but maybe, just maybe, I should have tried fighting solo…'_

**

* * *

**

**Arena, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

One might expect that after several rounds of the Holy Palace Tournament, the crowds would have settled down, as the novelty of seeing players battle it out in the Arena would have worn off over time, leaving only the diehard fanatics in the audience. But then, one would have been wrong. The previous matches, for all their excitement, involving ritual duels to the (virtual) death, Chaotic PKKs, legendary players, and mysterious swordsmen with one-hit kill techniques, had only whetted the crowd's appetite for a spectacle unlike anything The World had ever seen.

The two teams had not yet arrived in the Arena, and already the atmosphere was tense, an undercurrent of excitement crackling in the air, as rumors, bets, and wild speculation ran rampant in the stands.

"He's going to be here today…the legendary PKK, the Dark Evangel…" whispered one.

"I hear he's been corrupted by something, changed into a malevolent spirit of vengeance, an Alastor of legend," another alleged, repeating what she had heard on the message boards.

"Did you hear…in his last match, he fought his father in single combat…and he won!" yet another of the Skari cheering section recalled.

"That's nothing…his opponent this time is none other than Tomoyami of the Shadow, the Chaotic PK rumored to be the fiercest of them all…she defeated Kaotin in the Shadows, even with a class disadvantage! And she'll defeat that upstart PKK too, I'm sure of it. I'll even bet my rare weapon, Spider's Karma, that she'll win."

"Heh…you're on, and I'll match your Spider's Karma with a Flame Sword."

And then, all of the sudden, there was absolute silence, the buzzing of conversation, the sound of breathing absent as the Commentator rose to his feet.

"Ladies and gentlemen," his distinctive voice boomed out into assembled masses. "Welcome to the Semi-Finals of the Holy Palace Tournament! Our guests today are the legendary sage Morganna…and the enigmatic Gendor!"

"Well well, what do we have here…a clash of legends new and old …" the former goddess murmured.

"May you find your key to the truth," added the Steam Gunner in black.

With the crowds gathered in the Arena thirsty for blood, even a simple statement like that could stoke them into a wild frenzy. And so they roared in anticipation, even as the Commentator continued to speak, introducing the very worthy opponents who would face each other in the ring.

"Here they come, our grand tsunami, one of the undeniable favorites of the tournament," the man proclaimed, as the azure rings warped into sight an Adept Rogue, a Lord Partizan, and a Twin Blade. "The unstoppable power of the cursed wave is about strike once more, with the Skari the Dark Evangel joining forces with the most feared duo to stalk the Lost Grounds and Root Towns, the terror of evildoers and meddlers everywhere…Piros the 3rd and Natsume the Edgemaniac! Their very existence is almost illegal! Ladies and gentlemen, here comes team Dark Evangel!"

Catcalls, howls, and wild yelping burst from the masses above as the three in question were warped to the isle of battle.

"One of future, two of past, together three conjoined in present in the fight against the shadow," Morganna murmured quietly.

'_Stubbornness, a goal, a willingness not to give in… an exceptionally strong mind is needed to control one's dark side, Bracelet Bearer…'_

"And here's the challenger, the indomitable Tomoyami of the Shadow, a Chaotic PK of unsurpassed power and skill!" the Commentator hollered out into the stands in his over the top style, inviting—and receiving—yet more roars of approval. "An elegant lady of war, a goddess of death, in appearance refined but in ferocity like a demon! It is rumored that anyone who comes close enough to see the sigil of darkness upon her pale face will be slain by the might of the Unyielding Shadow. Together with the Invincible Perverts, once again, the scythe of the reaper is hungry for new blood, as they try to bring down Team Dark Evangel!"

Rings of azure light warped said trio into the Arena, and then to the battle isle, where they stared down their opponents with looks that might have been able to kill on an already sunny day.

"Here she is, the mighty Flick Reaper herself. Tomoyami's team has made her entrance, and they are pumped. Both teams have made it here after impressive battles…the epic clash of the titans is about to begin!"

The thought in all six combatants on the field was the same that day: _'Let's do this!'_

"Alright then, let the match begin!" the Commentator roared, signaling the outbreak of battle, as the cries of the spectators called for blood.

"_**Reaper's Dance!" "Dust Bullet!" **_

Thosewere the battle cries of Tomoyami and Skari, respectively, choosing to open the match with their most powerful skills, with one leaping at her foe, demonically sharp Scythe poised to strike.

'_If I can just get past his longer range and bring him into _my_ sphere of control…'_

Twas not to be, as an orb of blue energy slammed into her, a powerful shot that eroded away some of her heavy armor. For as a Flick Reaper, a medium range area attack class, she was weak to long range attacks from a single opponent. Skari knew this, and so was filling the air with shrapnel as he continued to fire, burning his SP shot by shot.

Until at last the two drew together, their weapons colliding with a jarring _clang_!

As for the others…

"WAHAHAHA! So at long last, we meet, weaklings! _**Heavenly Rage!"**_

To start things off, the hulking figure in gold leapt full into the air, and in very aerodynamically improbable series of maneuvers, somersaulted twice and flipped to land in front of Tribal Grappler Arano, his Lance Snake whirling like a drill sharp enough to pierce the heavens.

'_What the…who the hell is this guy?ǃ' _reeled Aruna, barely dodging the blows with his superior speed, as he sought an opening in his opponent's defense. _ Lord Partizans aren't supposed to be able to move like that!'_

Of course, Aruna wasn't about to let the other usurp his role of fast physical attacker, so he nimbly jumped back again and again to avoid the longer weapon—and then, when a fractional opening came.

"You really think you can win?" the bare-chested Tribal Grappler taunted, almost throwing out his chest at the enemy. "How about a taste of my divine fist? Who the hell do you think I am..._punch_! _**Shell Shock!"**_

But his charged fists only ended up striking cold steel, as Piros the 3rd interposed his spear between himself and the enemy, sneering at him.

"Hah! Not bad for an unknown!" he conceded, slashing once, twice, and then jabbing forward where he predicted the Tribal Grappler might be, the drill sparking as it whirred and struck. "Prepare to die, you scurrilous wretch!"

"_**Palm Blast!" **_was all Aruna said in response, gambling by jumping _onto _his opponent's Lance to launch himself into the air and twisting his body to attack from above.

"Heh. _**Scarlet Thrust!" **_countered the hulking figure in gold, sidestepping as he knocked Aruna from the air with his spear.

'_Any minute now, Arano is going to use the same strategy he did last time, and cast a confusion spell on these two…right?'_

However, it was not to be, as Shadow Warlock Arano had made the fatal mistake of bringing a rare and powerful grimoire to this battle—and if there was anything that could cause Natsume to shift personality from her innocent self into the Edgemaniac, it was the sight of a rare.

"A rare…give it to me! _**Chaotic Strike!**_" the Twin Blade shrieked, exploding forward with all the speed inherent in her class, dual swords glowing with an unholy light as they whirled about, whistling towards his unarmored form and promising pain.

"_**Dek Do! Mumyn Lei!" **_he managed to yell out in the second before contact, an aura of darkness forming around Natsume and reducing her formidable speed to a level he could deal with, while putting her to sleep.

Or so he thought, as the magical aura emerged and faded, leaving the fierce Edgemaniac…_unaffected? _Just as her blades slammed into his body, the sheer force in her powerful blows sending him reeling, even as he struggled to cast another spell, but found her could not. Only managing to use his book for an unintended purpose—blocking the waves of successive strikes.

'_What the—? Her armor must have a special enhancement that nullifies status effects! But then, my strategy against the supports is…oh shit.'_

Battle was not the time to be distracted by stray thoughts, as unexpected kicks to the stomach and side sent him sprawling to the Arena floor.

'_I knew going into this that this really wasn't going to end well…'_

"Well, if you won't give it to me, I'll just have to take it away from you!" she howled in blood lust, fueling her onslaught with the desire to relieve the Shadow Warlock of his weapon by any means necessary. _**"Ghost Falcon!"**_

The not-so-innocent Twin Blade rushed at the fallen caster, full strength and ferocity unsealed by her desire, dual swords gleaming wickedly as they spelled his doom.

'_But she made a mistake…since she hasn't hit me again quite yet—I can cast.' _

"_**OrLei Zas!" **_

From his open hands, a fistful of lightning surged forth, slamming into the onrushing Chaotic PKand knocking her back, buying Arano a moment of respite.

"I'm not out of this yet, Edgemaniac!" he spat defiantly, getting to his feet. "If you want this rare item…come and get it!"

'_If I can just hold off a little longer, my equipped accessories will heal me…'_

Meanwhile, in the center of the Arena…

"_**Heavenly Wheel!" **_ Tomoyami howled, having closed the distance so that Skari was now within her threat envelope, and outside of his optimal strike zone. Down swept her scythe, brutally slamming into the robed form of the Adept Rogue—who only grinned, pressing a bayonet into the Flick Reaper's stomach.

'_Perfect…she acted as I thought she would…Center the target…and pull the switch!"_

"_Counterattack! __**Tempest Blast!**__" _he shouted, unleashing a point blank piercing strike against his foe, the impact throwing her off balance enough for Skari to slide inside her reach, and using all the speed and agility he could gather on short notice, changed weapons, unleashing "_**Whirlwind!" **_and _**"Ghost Falcon!"**_ against his adversary's exposed form. "Finished yet, Tomoyami?"

But the Flick Reaper wasn't completely out of tricks, letting the momentum of his strikes take her in mid-air, so that she could use the moment of inertia they imparted to spin and counter!

"Guh…nice ploy," she acknowledged with a snort, smashing the haft of her scythe into Skari's chest and following up with a vicious kick to the face, "but if you think that's all I've got, you've learned nothing. Don't take me lightly…who the hell do you think I am?"

With a kick to the crotch and a palm to the face, the Adept Rogue was tossed unceremoniously to the ground, with the Chaotic PK giving chase, scythe's blade slicing down—_clang!—_to meet with the stone of the Arena floor as Skari rolled out of the way!

"I'll admit you're strong," the Adept Rogue and PKK growled, recovering to his feet. "But not strong enough to keep me down! _**Sphere Bullet!"**_

A quick weapon change, and a blast of light erupted, streaking from gunblade towards the Chaotic PK, only to be batted out of the way by a scytheas the Dark Evangel fought the demon Tomoyami of the Shadow!

And speaking of hotbloodedness…

"I'm not through with you yet, whoever the hell you think you are!" Tribal Grappler Aruna howled, fists glowing in rage as he charged, sidestepping and ducking low to avoid the rampaging swift Doberman's offhand backhand and spinning spear, closing in—and striking! "_**King Hammer!"**_

His gauntleted fists slammed into the heavy golden armor of the Lord Partizan in a wave of percussive blasts, hammering at the hard outer shell to crack it and reach the vulnerable behemoth inside—but he didn't count on a headbutt, or an armored fist in his own solar plexus, the force behind Piros' attack opening up just enough room for—

"Spin on! _**Piercing Heaven!" **_

So the golden beast roared, as Piros the 3rd thrust with his over-sized progressive drill, the gigas impact flinging Aruna into the air, with the Swift Doberman following, unleashing his ultimate technique as he catapulted himself upwards and turned his body into a living weapon: Spiral of Death - Piroshi Body Press!

_KABOOM!_

A titanic CRASH sounded from the center of the Arena, as the Tribal Grappler was smashed into the dirt by the Lord Partizan's incredible bulk, only for the hulk to be tossed off a raging, if wounded, man with a surge of strength lent by desperation.

"_**Tiger Bite!" **_he roared, unwilling to admit defeat, gauntlets pummeling the titan again and again in a veritable monsoon of blows. "You think I'm beaten? You think I'll fall? That it's impossible, laughable that I might beat you? Hah…whether it's impossible or absurd, I will fight you to the end, and carve a victory with these hands!"

Up swept the foe-tossing drill spear, spun quickly to serve as a shield, striking the defiant Aruna in side, neck, leg, head.

"Heh…you cannot do so, for I am as a tank, an invincible wall!" Piros laughed in his face. "Indeed, you pathetic human beings not worthy enough to know my name, but nonetheless I tell you so you may know the name of the one who crushed you. The raging swift Doberman, magnificent eagle man of blue cloudy weather, the great golden warrior of justice — Piros the 3rd!"

The tribal grappler was down on one knee now, arms raised in an X-cross to ward off further blows, but he quickly came up with a plan, throwing himself to the floor and executing a flawless leg sweep that took advantage of Piros' top heavy nature to knock the golden titan off balance, sending him down and rolling across the Arena's stone floor.

"Piros the 3rd, eh?" he hissed, following the rolling golden one with theatrics of his own, bounding ahead of the Lord Partizan and stopping him with a flying kick. "You say you're a wall…I'll break you down! I'm not beaten so easily…who the hell do you think I am…_KICK?ǃ_ Now take this..._**Shell Shock!**_"

A point blank delivery of raging power finally cracked the shell of the Slow Doberman, even as the other lanced and thrust with his weapon to recover range, wary respect in his eyes hidden behind the sunglasses.

Natsume and Arano's duel, however, was much less full of theatrics and histrionics, and to the Twin Blade's grudging surprise, the Shadow Warlock was managing to hang on. The Edgemaniac had rather thought that once her opponent – a caster not suited to melee – had been downed, it would have been a simple matter to dispose of him, but there was more fight in Arano than it had initially appeared was the case.

"If you want the rare, come at me!" the Shadow Warlock taunted, book and hand upraised while preparing a silent spell cast of the highest order. "_**OrGan Bolg! OrAni Zot! OrVak Don!"**_

Grinning maniacally, the Chaotic PK Natsume barreled towards him, blades outstretched—as the stretch of field between them was distorted by the powerful magicks he unleashed, with fireballs raining from the heavens, rocks hurtling upward and then down, and claws of shadow reaching up from the ground to drag any who dared enter to down to the abyss.

In the aftermath of the most powerful combination of spells yet seen, a veil of smoke obscured the area where the Edgemaniac had once stood.

'_Heh…I guess I've won,' _he thought cockily, smirking as he waited for the smoke to clear. _'She may be immune to status effects, but there's no way she could have survived that!'_

He really shouldn't have tempted fate with the last line, as Murphy always found a way to intervene—especially as Arano had more or less repeated the Third Child's mistake against the Fourth Angel.

"_**Ghost Falcon!" **_came a furious roar from behind him, as the wounded Chaotic PK's blades tore through his robes as if they were naught but tissue paper. "Another caster did the same thing…and the same trick won't work on me twice! _**Gale Blade!**_"

Twas time for a desperation gambit, so the Shadow Warlock threw himself forward and spun around quickly, holding up his precious rare grimoire to block the dual swords hurtling at him, trapping them as they stabbed through the thick leatherbound volume.

"Tomoyami, use it now!" he yelled, hoping against hope that his leader would hear him, since he couldn't hold Natsume off for much longer.

In midair, blinding sparks flew with the speed of sound, as two figures clashed, scythe against blades—two friends locked in a duel to the death to determine who would be worthy of moving to the finals.

_Clang! Clash! Whirr! Twang!_

Bayonet against Scythe they fought, their individual movements a blur as the battle raged onwards, their feet barely touching the floor as they danced and leapt and twirled, putting their faith into their skill and weapons as they loosed their most powerful of skills once more.

"_**Dust Bullet! Sphere Bullet!" **_Skaricalled out, unleashing twin blasts of azure light in an attempt to finish his foe.

But quicker than the eye could see, Tomoyami evaded, her deadly scythe screaming towards the Adept Rogue, as she wove the blade in complex patterns of death.

"_**Reaper's Dance! Rue Kruz!"**_

Orbs of water sprung full formed from the aether, hurtling towards the Adept Rogue in time with Tomoyami, and though Skari blocked the scythe, the spell was then rendered unavoidable, orbs striking one after another, hammering and tattering his form—and yet he stood his ground.

And then the Flick Reaper heard the plea of her comrade and leapt back, putting away her weapon as she prepared the most powerful skill her party could use.

"I see…" Tomoyami murmured, eyes flashing as she looked upon her opponent. "You've fought hard, Skari, but I'm afraid all you've done is dig yourself a deeper hole with each skill you use and I've countered with. It looks like you still have much to learn Skari…but be honored that it took this to end you this day!"

And then the ground rumbled, the sky grew dark, as the Flick Reaper summoned the collective might of her party's battle aura with four chilling words:

"_**Divine Awakening: Plasma Blade!"**_

As a side effect, Skari and his party could only watch helplessly as they was stripped of any equipment effects that would allow resistance to the damage to come, as Tomoyami of the Shadow called from the very air itself, a gale of plasma, shaping it in her upraised hands to form a scythe of light.

"Here it comes, are you ready?" she taunted, using the full power in her virtual legs to hurtle high into the sky, disappearing from sight like a shooting star—and hurtling down as a glowing plasma meteor from above, the shockwave of fire spilling all over the floating battle isle. "Taste the power of the World! DIE!"

The flames engulfed the entire battle platform, with the audience frozen as they watched what seemed the final blow of the match—but when the plasma storm faded, Skari remained standing, striding from the flames with an unflinching walk, accompanied by his party members, who had also survived, if only just.

"What…but how?" the Flick Reaper looked on helplessly, as the foe renewed their onslaught, with Skari facing her, bayonet in hand. "To survive a Divine Awakening after taking so much…that should be…"

"Impossible?" the Adept Rogue asked with a smirk, declaring his existence to The World at large. "Maybe so, but here I stand. I've lost too much to be beaten here…and even should I be threatened with the terror of death by the reaper herself, by my enemy that is unyielding fate, my feelings will blaze a path to the dawn. Even if the vastness of The World itself was to stand against me, I will stand in defiance, forging my own destiny with these two hands! I am not my father, I am not Eris who gives in to weakness, I am not anybody else…I am myself."

This time, it was the Dark Evangel who put away his gunblade, an unholy light filling his eyes as he returned Tomoyami's earlier favor.

"Really, do you think I'll just run away from responsibility by accepting defeat? Do you really think I won't be able to beat you if you stand between me and saving the Lost Ones? I'll show you my determination...all of the feelings I've carved deep into both worlds are going into this final blast! Because who the hell do you think I am?" he roared, calling the fighting spirit of his comrades to him with four words:

"_**Divine Awakening: Hellfire Quake!"**_

Between the hands of the Messenger of Darkness, the Apostle of Destruction, a chaotic orb of dark fire swiftly gathered, a swirling mass of untamed shadow and flame, and then he brought his hands together, shaping from that amorphous blob of pure power a great sword of chaotic fire, which he swung upwards over his shoulder as if to heft it—

—and then slashed forward and down, unleashing a wave motion blast like a flamethrower on steroids that shot from the sword towards his enemies, a surge of heat and light that tore open a dislocation in space itself, literally ripping the surface of the battle isle in half…the energy bleeding from its edges alone proving deadly, as Team AIDA fell to the unexpected onslaught.

When the blinding light faded and all could see once again, it was not the Unyielding Shadow, but the Dark Evangel who stood triumphant, as the crowds erupted into a chorus of cheers, shocked shouts, and applause, (figuratively) blown away by the most epic battle of the Arena...and the promise of even more to come.

Being the gentleman he was, the Commentator allowed them a few moments to talk among themselves before interjecting his own remarks (which was, after all, his job).

"It's…ladies and gentlemen, that was unbelievable!" he bellowed to the crowds, who roared in approval at the spectacle before them. "The winner of this round of the Holy Palace Tournament Semi-Finals, who will face Eris, Bringer of Strife for the title of Emperor is… the unstoppable Dark Evangel!"

"So, he has found his indispensable truth after all," observed Gendor, with the unshaven man having studied the unfolding events carefully. "So this is what he has learned as a result of that battle against me…how interesting. You have shaped things to give him more confidence, even as you make him into a weapon. Just whose side are you on, anyway, Morganna?"

"Yes indeed, he has found it within himself to master light and shadow, the path of Twilight, becoming a weapon by his own choice," replied the enigmatic Morganna. "And as for what side I'm on…the answer would be the same you might give…my own."

In the center of the Arena, the two teams shook hands in a show of respect.

"You didn't hold back after all," commented the pigtailed girl, accepting her defeat with grace. "Well done, Dark Evangel."

"Neither did you, and you almost won, even with the aid of my new allies, the old dothackers," the Adept Rogue replied in turn, deferring to his beaten foe. "You taught me well these few weeks…I am glad to have you as a comrade and a friend."

"Ah, so Arano was right about them," Tomoyami noted, studying the odd couple of Piros the 3rd and Natsume, the latter having reverted to her former self (not remembering the match at all) when Arano handed over a rare blade to sate her thirst for items. "That certainly explains a lot…but you know as well as I that in the heat of battle, almost doesn't count for much."

"Indeed."


	44. Logout 18: Inversion of Shade

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Inversion of Shade**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Tokyo-3 General Hospital**

It was quite an impressive thing, really, how quickly the human animal was able to adapt to changes in routine when it was forced to. In the course of only about a week, the Slayer of Angels had resigned himself to waking up before the dawn, fixing breakfast, and then heading out to Tokyo-3 General hospital to visit his comatose girlfriend, spending an hour or so sitting beside her in the hope that perhaps his voice would help her to come back to herself—as well as to remind himself why he fought.

'_Can you hear me I wonder?' _the Third Child asked silently, taking a deep breath._ 'This voice of mine heading down into darkness, echoing the words you gave me in our time together…words I hold in my mind and my heart. To be strong, that I am not alone, that there is something I can do—in this I find meaning, so I know what I feel isn't futile, as I run onwards towards the ever-distant horizon, never wavering—no time for lament.'_

"My only regret," he spoke into the shadows, "is that I could not protect you that time, that you had to sacrifice yourself to save me. But I will not fail you again, because I believe in the Reimeiki-chan who believes in me, in everyone who believes in me, and after everything I've done, everything I've been through, I've come to believe in myself. The Shinji Ikari in your mind, the Shinji Ikari in mine, the Shini Ikari in everyone's minds…I don't fear them anymore, because I have faced myself…and won."

'_The only thing I fear is that I might fail, that I might find myself screaming alone at night, having withstood pain to forged myself into a weapon, only to find myself unwanted and shunned. But I know that will not happen, because my feelings tell me otherwise,' _the brown-haired boy reasoned in his mind. _'So I will not waver, because you gave me a task to fulfill, and I will not accept failure. As long as I know that you are there, I will not accept that our precious days together have ended, and so I'll bring you back…I'll bring them all!'_

"Though…I wouldn't have minded if you'd chosen to save yourself either," he said, half-smiling. "This way, I'm the one who has to do all the work…and worse, deal with Asuka. I really don't know how you found it in yourself to be kind to her when she was so cruel. But then again, maybe the self that watches is right, that she's just running away in a different fashion."

A quiet click sounded amidst the whirrs and beeps, as the door opened and closed, another figure coming in and sitting beside him as he continued to speak.

"But regardless of that, I've realized my indispensable truth: that I am nobody but myself," Shinji murmured confidently, his posture shifting to reflect his words. "For many years I chased after Father, wanting to become like him—but I've realized that in chasing someone else's shadow, I was only running away from who I was and am. And the one person you can never truly run away from is yourself, because no matter how far you run…that self will be there, watching."

"That's very insightful, Ikari-kun," chimed in Hikari Horaki from her seat next to the brown-haired boy, almost causing the Third Child to leap out of his skin in shock. Seeing his reaction, she couldn't help but get a bit of teasing in, subtle vengeance for the Arena match. "What's wrong? You don't seem quite as fierce as you did in the Arena yesterday…are you sure you're not just getting ready to say 'who the hell do you think I am' while striking a heroic pose today, 'Emperor'?"

"I'm not the Emperor yet," the Third replied dryly, simply raising an eyebrow, "Besides, I'm the one who beat you, so shouldn't I be the one doing the teasing? Anyway, if you want theatrics, I think Touji has enough hot-bloodedness in him for all of Class 2-A. Isn't that why you like him in the first place…and why you found made an excuse to make lunch for him today?"

In response, the Class Rep looked down and flushed, avoiding his eyes. Perhaps it was him, but the blush of embarrassment seemed to heat up the air-conditioned hospital room by a few degrees, rivaling even the luminescent output of Shinji's own nova level blushes.

"Its-its—its not…" the pig-tailed girl stammered, finding it difficult to speak since the Third Child had found her weak point in her emotional defenses, and had assaulted it with a verbal prog knife. Then she deflated with a sigh, turning and asking. "Was it really that obvious?"

"Painfully. Look, I might be dense, but even I'm not that dense," Shinji replied, rolling his eyes. "Besides, even if you claim you can't stand him, spending that much time with him, trying to shape him into a 'real man' and then offering to make him lunch—to paraphrase…well, you…you kind of give the lie to your words. Even if you do try to pass off making an extra lunch for him as leftover disposal—you picked the right way to charm him. Touji's heart is through his stomach."

"That's funny," she quipped, mischief in her eyes. "I would have thought it was through his eyes, for all that he talks about breasts, thighs, or…calves? I never understood the last one, really, but that's the Idiot Duo—Invincible Perverts, for you."

"Leave it to those two to be known for perversity in both worlds," the Third Child snorted, as he and Hikari shared a _look _and a moment of laughter before both of them sobered.

"So how is Reimeiki-chan doing?" the Class Rep asked, regarding the comatose silver-haired girl fondly. "You visit her every morning before you go to school, so I thought you'd be the first to know if there were any changes. And I thought since there were rumors that she'd been seen in The World…"

The brown-haired boy grew quiet as silence wrapped itself around him like a heavy traveling cloak, his eyes unfocused as he recalled both the rumors on the message boards and the words of Aranami-sensei.

"The sister of Aura wanders The World, like a ghost, or so the old dothackers say," he said distantly, reflecting on the last few hectic days that had begun with the battle against Iruel, and had now led to him being the chosen one to face off against the AIDA-PC Eris. "But she is blind and mute, searching for the fragments of herself—of which I hold only her fate, and after our trainings in the Outer Dungeons, her dreams (in the form of '_smaerd . cyl_'). The battle to free her from this fate is coming … will you be by my side for that contest of wills?"

"I did promise you that we'd fight the threat together, right? Besides, I'd rather fight by your side than by any other in The World, Ikari-kun," Hikari declared, steel in her voice, triggering a very light blush from Shinji, who was now listening very intently to her words. "Because though we are Chaotic PK and PKK, we understand each other very well, as both of us are people who push ourselves beyond the impossible, and when push comes to shove, we stand and fight, showing no mercy even to ourselves when it comes to what needs to be done."

The pig-tailed girl reached out and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, as her smile twisted and her voice took on a markedly lighter tone as she brought up the topic of his other battle companions.

"But are you sure you don't want to work together with Team Graphics Unbelievable again?" she asked half-seriously. "From what you've said, Piros the 3rd and Natsume the Edgemaniac fought beside the last Bearer of the Bracelet, so they understand the dangers. What's up with those two, anyway? I know Natsume is a rumored Chaotic PK, and from the way she fought, I can believe it, but I don't know anything about the 'Slow Doberman'…aside from the fact he really got on Touji's nerves."

Shinji harrumphed then, smirking all too knowingly.

"See, you mentioned Touji again," the Third Child pointed out, causing Hikari to make ready her defensive Trojan Wall of protests before he waved her down. "Yeah, Piros the 3rd… he really does like roleplaying great heroes with nonsensical titles, doesn't her? I mean, 'the magnificent eagle man of cloudy blue weather'? That doesn't make any sense…"

"Heh…it makes just about as much sense as the Slayer of Angels calling himself the Dark Evangel," the pigtailed girl commented, inducing a wince from the player behind that character.

"Or a certain Class Rep whose name means 'light' calling herself 'eternal darkness'?" the brown-haired boy shot back, with the girl in question holding up her hand in a request for a verbal truce. "As for Piros, from what he said, he's a graphics programmer at CyberConnect Corporation who really likes his job. As for Natsume…I'm not sure if she realizes she's a PK. She seems to think that all the rare equipment she finds in her inventory is the result of…our Dark Queen playing a trick on her. They're…not exactly the most normal players of The World."

"That coming from you or me doesn't exactly work, since we're now dothackers…and our lives are nowhere near normal," Hikari noted, prodding Shinji in the chest with a long finger. "You and Rei pilot giant robots, Reimeiki is the sister of The World's goddess, and I'm a dothacker with the power to kill AIDA. The only normal ones are the others in our class."

"Speaking of class, we should probably be going, since Aranami-sensei won't go easy on us just because we're working for her now," the brown-haired boy murmured, rising to his feet and giving the silver-haired girl on the bed a last fond look. _'I'll see you tomorrow, Reimeiki-chan.' _"I hope you wake up soon, Reimeiki-chan. I miss you."

"I wonder what she sees when she's wandering The World…it might be a better world than this one, even with things as strange as they are," the pig-tailed girl sighed, shaking her head. "At least there are no Angel attacks…well, except for Iruel…"

"Yeah…and the AIDA…that's what started all this…"

On their way out, Shinji thought he saw Maya Ibuki out of the corner of his eye, but as he was going in the opposite direction, he couldn't be sure.

**

* * *

**

**Terminal Dogma**

Meanwhile, deep in the bowels of NERV, an unshaven spy lurked outside the main LCL generation plant. It was a place warded in secrecy, with its contents officially known only to the three highest ranking members of NERV (Commander Ikari, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, and Dr. Akagi), but the rogue agent named Ryoji Kaji had no problems with violating the rules if it would take him closer to the truth.

'_It is time to see if the information provided to me by Bith the Black is of any real use…to see if there is truly an Angel in this place. I know of Adam, since I delivered it, but could this truly be the Second Angel?'_

Stolen access card in hand, he made to swipe it through the reader to open the heavy blast doors separating him from the chamber of secrets—but was stopped by the metallic _click_ of a gun being cocked, with the barrel pointed at his head.

'_Well, the warning did say trespassers would be shot on sight, and since I have not yet been shot…it is likely that whoever is behind me may be friendly. The list of suspects who would hesitate is an extremely small one, having to both work for NERV and be willing to spare me. To be specific, it is a list with only one member, Misato Katsuragi.'_

Leaving his hands where the person behind him could see them, the spy turned his head slightly to confirm the identity of who he suspected it to be.

'_Purple hair, and a familiar angry face…perfect. I can work with this.'_

"How's your hangover?" the unshaven man asked casually, sounding for all the world as if he had simply run into his ex at a coffeeshop, instead of in a restricted area where she was authorized to use lethal force to prevent intruders from entering. _'The time trusted tactic of refuge in audacity…'_

"It's gone now, thanks to you," the purple-haired Director of Operations responded personably, still holding the gun to the rogue agent's head, of course.

"That's good to hear."

And then the Major grew more serious, asking the more or less expected questions for someone discovering him in this situation.

"Is this your real job? Or is this just a part time affair?" she inquired dispassionately, mouth set in a disapproving line.

"I don't know, myself…" he answered, an evasion that wasn't quite what Misato wanted to hear but would put up with for now.

"Ryoji Kaji is a member of NERV's Special Investigations Division," the Major recited from memory, "Yet at the same time Ryoji Kaji is also in service to the Japanese Ministry of the Interior."

'_Ah, she's missing a few factions…and she doesn't seem to know about SEELE. This is good, I can feed her information, especially concerning the Angels…'_

"So you knew about that," the spy replied without much of a reaction. Sudden movements or flinching could be decidedly bad for one's health when someone held a gun to one's head, and had a bit of a violent streak of provoked.

"Don't underestimate Nerv!" the purple-haired Director of Operations admonished, beginning to get irritated with his nonchalance.

"So was this ordered by Commander Ikari?" he wondered aloud. If it was, well, then it was game, set, and match for him…if not, if she had come here of her own free will where she had no business being either, then the situation could definitely be turned to his advantage.

"No, this is of my own will," Misato said firmly, warning in her voice. "But if you pursue this part-time job further, you'll die."

'_Not by your hand, dear Katsuragi, and not today, or you would have shot me already. It does not pay to have attachments in this line of work, but perhaps I can turn you from your loyalty to NERV…'_

"Commander Ikari has his uses for me, so I can continue," the unshaven man voice noncommittally, letting a pang of regret seep into his tone. "But I do apologize to you for keeping this a secret."

'_Yes, just a little remorse…'_

The purple haired Major sighed.

"Since I appreciate what you did yesterday, I'll let this pass…once," she allowed, plainly wanting him to turn around and head back to where he had come.

'_But I've come too far to go back now…I've always been a gambling man, and if my sources are correct about what lies within, I can both catch a glimpse of the contents of the LCL plant, and show her a reason not to trust the Commander so easily…'_

"Thanks," the Special Investigator said gently, with a smirk of sorts upon his face. "But I should tell you, the Commander and even Rit-chan have kept something secret from you."

_Swish!_ A fast, but nonthreatening swipe of the hacked card through the reader, with the light changing from yellow to green, the blast doors rumbling open to reveal—

'_So…my source was accurate after all…'_

"And this is it!" he stated, as Misato's face froze in a mask of shock at seeing what lay within: a white giant crucified upon a massive red cross, pierced through the torso with the two-pronged Lance of Longinus. A clear orange liquid, LCL, dripped from the unhealing wound of the Lance, filling the lake around it…this was how NERV acquired all the LCL for its needs, by sapping the blood of an Angel. "Sear this into your eyes…this is the truth you have been searching for."

"This is…Eva?" Misato spoke, voice low and panicked at being confronting with the unknown, no, worse, with a figure from her nightmares. "No…this is…this is…"

"Lilith, the key to the First Impact, the Second Angel, mother of humanity, who formed the Black Moon NERV was built in. Adam, the key to Second Impact and everything else since, is elsewhere on this base. If ever an Angel should meet one of these, it will be the Third Impact."

"Lilith? Adam? The First and Second Angels are here in headquarters? I've underestimated NERV…" the Major spoke, frozen in place by the revelation. What she hated most in the world was being hidden by the very organization she worked for, kept secret even from the operations director…

'_I suppose everything is going according to a scenario…though whose, I would not know at this point.'_

**

* * *

**

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

With the absence of Hikari Horaki, keeper of order & tyrant of Class 2-A, the gossips and rumormongers who so thoroughly infested said class flourished this morning, speculating on the reasons why she wasn't early as usual, the conditions of the absent Ayanami and Hakubo, the mysterious transfer student Kaworu Nagisa (who looked very much like Rei Ayanami, or some said), and of course (appropriately enough given that this _was_ a class taught by Morganna), happenings in The World, including the Arena match that had happened the night before.

"Did anyone else see Arena match between the Dark Evangel and the Unyielding Shadow last night?" one asked excitedly, posting a captured video of the fight onto his personal website. Given the way the message boards had been buzzing after that duel of blades, with many users clamoring for an instant replay or two, this would likely give his site some much desired hits.

"Yeah...and Tomoyami was _awesome!_" gushed one of her recent admirers (read: fan club, not Touji). "Did you see the brutal punishment she unleashed on her opponent? And that kill at the end…a scythe of light…she's so strong…"

"If you've ever seen her get angry at the Idiot Duo, you'd already know she was capable of such things," another commented dryly, looking at the two males in question. "I mean…really, don't get her mad, or…"

"…bad things will happen, we understand," one of the problem students noted, remembering her tendency to correct disciplinary issues with healthy infusions of pain and toil. "I mean…look what happened to…"

He didn't have to say anything else, as the entire class glanced towards the irritable Second Child, who as usual was sitting alone, nose in the air, pretending this conversation wasn't happening…though the way her eyebrow kept twitching—to say nothing of how her head swiveled on her neck to glare at the student who had spoken—made that a little hard to believe.

'_I guess it's because of the fact that we all play The World, but sometimes this class seems to be an extension of the message boards, given what we talk about in the mornings,' _mused Kensuke Aida, the bespectacled member of the Idiot Duo who was participating in the discussion via IMs, thoroughly enjoying the wave of emails congratulating him on his performance. _'But…I don't really mind…at least now I'm appreciated instead of being called the strange military otaku. Hm, I guess playing The World is one of the more normal things I do.'_

"Heh…" he threw out for the sake of conversation, "Try being on the field against a Chaotic PK like the Edgemaniac…I mean, I've heard that that PK once defeated the Bringer of Strife after the latter ambushed her."

Asuka's act of not being able to hear anything crumbled, as she grit her teeth and glared daggers with her eyes at the bespectacled boy.

'_I'll…I'll kill—"_

"As if the Bringer of Strife had any skills that could possibly compare to what we saw last night," added a cocky Touji Suzahara, his hotblooded antics the night before having only bolstered the reputation of the Idiot Duo/Invincible Perverts in both worlds. "I don't know if you remember, but back at Sif Berg, Tomoyami kicked the Bringer of Strife's ass as that lesser PK tried to run away."

'_Lesser PK? What the hell are you saying, dummkopf? And why are they gushing over…that slut and that baka Invincible Shinji? Everyone always does this…everyone ignores me…the true master of all, ME! Why? Why can't they recognize my genius as Kaworu does? He's the only one who has ever appreciated me!'_

"You might say she's nothing," the Second Child spat, taking the bait, eyes blazing with rage, "but she's the greatest of all Chaotic PKs! The one feared throughout The World, who will defeat the worthless Dark Evangel for the title of Empress! Aren't postings warning newbies about her all over the message boards?"

"Not that I've seen," objected one of the more reasonable students in the class. "Lately the boards have been flooded with rumors about the Dark Evangel, who people claim have gone over to the side of the PKs, with some saying he's so terrifying in battle that those who have faced him lost their will to play The World. The Bringer of Strife…she hasn't been seen recently, maybe she's gone soft or is hiding from the Dark Evangel?"

"WHAT?" Asuka roared, fists clenched as she bolted to her feet, intending to unleash the fullness of her wrath upon these insolent wretches, the last binds of her conscience snapping as she realized her plan had backfired. "WHAT DID YOU JUST—?"

_Click!_ Such a soft sound, the door opening, but it was enough to silence the red-haired beast, as Class Representative Hikari Horaki entered the room, with the Third Child Shinji Ikari following just behind her. Brown eyes met blue in a great contest of wills…but regardless of the Second's desires, this was Hikari's domain now, and within it she had the power to utterly destroy anyone she didn't particularly care for…as Asuka knew well after the events of the other day.

"Good day, Soryu-san," the Class Rep said icily, as she took in the unwelcome presence of the arrogant redhead. "You seem unreasonably angry today…so please, go out into the hallway and assume the usual position. The buckets are in the closet."

"Of course, Horaki-inchou," Asuka acknowledged unwillingly as she stormed off in a huff, her voice taking on rather sub-arctic qualities as well. "Don't let me stand in the way of your thronging masses, Tomoyami. You make me sick."

'_Next time there's an Angel, you're going down, bitch! And that baka Shinji Wonderboy is going to die along with you! Since you two spend so much time together, why don't you both rot in HELL! You and the Idiot Duo can join your little blunette friend in eternal sleep!'_

The Second Child accepted this small humiliation for now, as she would surely get her revenge. If only Kaworu hadn't been out at NERV again for one of his special sync tests, since according to him, Unit-00 was acting up once again.

'_Heh…of course it would, without my glorious presence to force it to comply,' _the redhead thought arrogantly, sniffing that anyone might think himself a better pilot than she, she who had trained for her role since the days of her youth. _'But I guess even a replacement like him appreciates the genuine article instead of that stupid Invincible Shinji!'_

At least the hallway was quiet, a place where she didn't have to deal with the taunts and jibes from those who knew her identity in The World, much less spend time in the company of the megalomaniacal Class Representative. And there was something almost soothing about being forced to carry buckets of water—something refreshing visceral, allowing her time to focus her anger, and plan out in intricate detail how each of her foes would suffer before they died in excruciatingly horrible ways.

As the redhead stood there, stewing in her thoughts, Morganna walked by and gave her an almost pitying look, one of the expressions that the Second Child hated most in The World. And for a brief moment, the two really looked at each other, with Asuka being the one who broke eye contact, seeing a certain indefinable _something_ there that seemed almost…inhuman.

The woman in black walked off, leaving behind only a soft laugh and a few words for the Pilot of EVA-02.

"You are here, no escape from my visions of The World…and to dare to hope is the best spice to bring out despair."

**

* * *

**

**NERV HQ, Sync Test**

After a long day of class, followed by an awkward lunch period where the Class Rep was discovered to have made lunch for the resident Jock (inducing reality warping amounts of squee and inciting the rumor mill to as much of an frenzy as the audience during any Arena match), the Children once again found themselves at NERV, as the never-ending cycle of sync tests, harmonic tests, and cross-compatibility tests wore on.

The reactions of the Children to these were rather varied. Kaworu didn't particularly mind, what with the constant smirk on his face as he hummed the melody of "Ode to Joy", something that was seriously beginning to get on Shinji's nerves. While the Third Child did have a great appreciation of music (and indeed, was an excellent cellist), hearing a song over and over and over again did tend to be somewhat annoying, to say the least. Given that Shinji Ikari didn't particularly enjoy either sync tests (for the smell and taste of blood they entailed) or Kaworu's company, he was rapidly developing a Pavlovian dislike to the famous tune.

For Asuka though, the tune was something from her homeland, a sign that in spite of everything that had gone wrong in her life, someone stood beside her, meaning that everything would be all right. Yes, she had experienced hardships and terrible losses, but the Second Child had climbed the pinnacle of power and now stood at the very heights of infamy in both worlds, known as one of the elite EVA pilots, the renowned saviors of humanity, as well as the notorious PK Eris, Bringer of Strife.

Hence, though she outwardly showed annoyance during these rather monotonous tests, they were secretly a bright spot in her days, reaffirming the truth of her existence, the truth of her superiority over all lesser mortals. Yes, the Third Child might have killed more Angels than she (which she rationalized by mentally labeling him a gloryhound out for the approval of his father, or surrogates of such), but a mere kill count didn't matter.

To pilot EVA was about the strength of one's heart, with what grace one could control one's biomechanical war machine, and in that arena, it was the great Asuka Langley Soryu who was most competent. Indeed, to date, her sync ratio had never been bested, a grand point of pride for the arrogant redhead, who liked to mention it as proof that she was the best.

But as Morganna was so very fond of saying, the higher up something is dropped, the worse the crash will be…

Today, at least one of the staff members observing the test (the Operations Director) seemed very tired for no particular reason, citing "private reasons" and refusing to elaborate. Whish was understandable, as learning that an organization one joined because of its stated mission to eradicating the threat of the Angels was actuallynot completely honest in its mission statement (as they _kept two Angels in Headquarters, where they could very well destroy the world)_ could horribly alter one's perception of the world. Even now, she found herself nursing a headache, almost wishing for the blessing of ignorance once again, as cold reality began to sink in.

"How are the Children?" she asked irritably, trying to get her mind off the events of this morning.

To which Maya smiled, indicating the synchro-graphs of the three with a simple "Look at this."

Misato looked over at the numbers, did a double-take and looked again, eyes widening at…

'_That can't be right…can it? With everything that has happened to Shinji in the last few weeks, his sync ratio is…that's almost unbelievable. I hope knowing he's done well will help him to be happier. Maybe he'll be less distant…'_

Sure enough, the Director of Operations had found something to distract her from her slump

"Wow," Misato breathed, reaching for the microphone to communicate with the pilots. "Can you hear me, Shinji-kun?"

Hearing his guardian's voice echo in the entry plug, Shinji stirred from his dream-like trance of contemplation.

"Hmm…" asked the brown-haired boy, curious to see how he had done this day. "Ah, Misato-san! What are the test results?"

"…"

A long pause gave him just enough time to doubt when—

"Congratulations, Shinji! You're number one!"

Had NERV's staff included any telepaths, they would have been deafened by the raging emotions of the Second, as she reeled in shock and rage, punching the side of her plug in an attempt to drown out the now-hated.

'_WHAT? The one certainty…he beat me? This…its…its not possible. The Invincible Shinji-baka, hero to NERV. He's so "wonderful", they say, so "strong", they say, and now he DARES to claim my title as best? VERDAMME SIE! I knew it…they're all out to get me, to dethrone me, to steal everything that makes me who I am. Well they can't, because its MINE…all MINE! MINE! MINE!'_

In the entry plug of Eva-00, Kaworu simply smiled enigmatically, closing his eyes as he hummed on.

'_AIDA is drawn to people's deepest passions, whether they are positive or negative…and in doing so, magnifies them, releasing id from the binds of ego, that they may sink into their own depths. And now comes Leliel…'_

Then a zebra-striped sphere blinked into existence above the Fortress City of Tokyo-3, and calm turned to chaos.

**

* * *

**

**Tokyo-3**

Outside NERV, the city sweltered in the harsh light of the sun, an artificial desert of twisted metal and glass spires created by the technology of man, as a mysterious black-and-white patterned sphere simply materialized above it, its shadow alone scaring away the birds below. Silently, it crept ahead, floating in the air as if waiting for something…

"The target is advancing slowly at 2.5 km per hour," reported the stoic Shigeru Aoba, analyzing the data as it came in over sensors. "The observation center on Mt. Fuji did not detect it, as it suddenly appeared above us."

"The MAGI labels this as unknown as Pattern Orange, with no AT Field detected," added the other male tech on the bridge, the bespectacled Makoto Hyuga.

"What does this mean? Is it a new type of Angel?" asked Misato, all business now, fatigue banished to the rear of her mind as she now had an enemy before her.

"The MAGI won't commit to a decision," responded Maya, who watched as the three icons of the supercomputing trio blinked on and off, indicating a digital squabble over insufficient data.

In EVA units 00 through 02, the Children stood by, hiding behind skyscrapers so as to remain out of sight of the unknown intruder in their airspace. Their orders were to approach carefully and observe its reaction, leading it outside the urban area if possible.

'_I'll definitely get the kill this time…and prove that that stupid Invincible Shinji is useless!'_

Without warning, Asuka charged, her progressive axe held high as she leaped high into the air, intending to end this with one blow, spinning about and bringing the weapon down upon—nothing, with the sphere vanishing without warning.

"What?" she screeched, landing on top of a skyscraper, furious that the target had escaped death by her blades.

And then a massive shadow appeared on the streets, the body of the Angel called the "Jaws of God" revealing its true form, as the city below began to sink down into it.

"Shadow? No!" she cried, any cares or worries of collateral damage banished as she played hop scotch, leaping from building to building to avoid sinking. "The city is.."

"Pattern Blue confirmed!" came a voice from headquarters, though whose, she had no idea at the moment. Survival was the priority, not the careful discrimination of who had dropped the ball and made the identification too late.

The sphere blinked into existence once again, as another voice came in over the radio.

"Shinji, Kaworu," ordered the Director of Operations. "Rescue Unit 02. Hurry!"

The Third and Fourth Children complied (albeit unwillingly in the case of the Third), raising their Evangelion sized guns and unleashing a storm of lead on the angelic invader…to no effect, as it disappeared again, expanding its shadow to try and swallow up the other two pests.

Unit Zero managed to jump to the top of a building, but Unit 01, caught in the middle of the shadow, was not so lucky—bad luck exacerbated when Unit 00's sniper rifle "accidentally discharged", shooting Unit 01 in the back and severing his umbilical cable, the resulting loss of tension causing it to sink into the black mass below its feet, along with a good portion of Tokyo-3.

Seeing nothing they could do, the other units hastily retreated, bounding their way across the city back to the launch shafts in a "tactical withdrawal." When they returned to headquarters, and the news broken that Unit 01 had been lost with the Third Child still aboard (the entry plug ejection code had failed to work, as per usual), it was all Asuka could do not to break out in maniacal laughter.

'_So it seems I have the last laugh, you not so invincible BAKA SHINJI. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'_

Above the now deserted streets of Tokyo-3, the spherical shadow simply floated, its mere presence taunting her as an enemy she could not defeat.

* * *

**Sea of Dirac**

Hours passed slowly in the Dirac Sea for one who could do nothing, see nothing, feel nothing. He tired of sleeping, of sitting, of marking time, waiting for death, for it seemed that the Third Child had finally met an Angel he could not defeat with force of arms, one that sought to kill him with wiles rather than sheer might.

"And I fell into its trap, while having to save _**her**_, the one who has caused others so much pain," Shinji groused, remembering how his last orders had indeed been to save Unit 02. He didn't know if the production model and the redhead inside it had escaped, but he hoped so, if only so that someone could utterly destroy her, and so bring back the Lost Ones. _'Salvation and destruction are linked…and if I can't be there to defeat her, at least Hikari-san will. Heh…how ironic, I defeat one Unyielding Shadow only to be consumed by another…'_

He smiled weakly to himself, sighing with the realization that the batteries of EVA-01 were beginning to give out. The LCL was getting muddy, smelling more and more of blood as the life support systems began to fail, and as the oxygen slowly gave out, Shinji passed into unconsciousness.

Or so he thought, for moments later he awakened in a sea of black, his body sluggish, barely there as around him was spread an eternal endless night, an infinite expanse of darkness where he could see nothing except the certainty of ever looming death.

"Is this how it ends then, with a whimper and a sigh?" Shinji asked himself quietly, too tired to move around and have a look at his surroundings. "My journey and my quest is already over before it began…"

"—only if you choose for it to be so, Dark Evangel," a voice commented from above him—as an all too familiar figure hurtled out of the shadows, knocking the Third Child down with a flying kick to the face, following up by reaching down and hauling him to his feet. Once again, blue eyes stared into red, as Skari, the self-within-the-self, stood before the hapless Shinji in silence. And then he spoke: "Hey you, grit those teeth!"

Without giving the Third Child enough time to adequately respond to his warning, the Adept Rogue flew at him, delivering a brutal uppercut to the brown-haired boy's jaw that sent him reeling.

"Eh—argh! Why?" Shinji managed to croak, bringing his hands up in a pathetically weak attempt at defense, only to be met with a knee to the stomach and a jab to the side, the pain bringing him to his knees. "You are me, so why are you doing this? Isn't it bad enough that I'm going to die without you humiliating me?"

"Die?" the other asked scornfully, his eyes flashing with barely repressed rage as he loomed over the Third Child, his voice building to an impressive bellow. "What do you mean die? Do you really think I will let you off so easily? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Unable to run away from himself, Shinji simply knelt there, expecting another slap…which never came.

"Slayer of Angels, Dark Evangel, the Bearer of the Bracelet, that's what they call you, isn't it?" the Adept Rogue snapped sarcastically, simply jabbing two fingers at Shinji's brow and forcing him back. "Well you know I call you? A hypocrite and liar of the worst kind, worse even than that bitch, Asuka Langley Soryu. Look at you, you're pathetic…you can't even get up, can't fight back, can you, even though we're in _your mind_? You think that just because you've been swallowed up by this Angel of the Night, that you are going to die...and call yourself a hero? The great so-called Invincible Shinji, just a coward looking for the first opportunity to run away, an Alastor, a demon of revenge, without the ability to exact that vengeance. Who would want you as you are? Right now, you're weak. Right now, you're worse than useless."

"I-I…" Shinji trailed off, not sure how to respond to the accusations of the self within.

"Such a fool!" Skari continued, drawing out the wickedly sharp gunblade that Shinji recognized as Demon Slice, the very weapon he had used in his fight against Tomoyami. "Wallowing in self-pity yet again? Don't you dare pity yourself…do something about your situation. Kaworu may be a real bastard and manipulator, and he might be wrong about many things, but there was one thing he was spot on about: that humans were remarkable in their ability to self-deceive. Fine, if you really want, you can give in to the end now, without even trying to find a way out…just know that you've doomed Reimeiki-chan, who was wrong ever to have loved a worthless cretin like—"

"You bastard! Take that back!" Shinji roared, suddenly surging to his feet and summoning his Lit Honeysuckle dual swords from midair. "I'm not going to abandon her, Skari! JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?"

He charged, dual swords crashing against bayonet with a resounding clang as the two selves, perfectly matched, fought a vicious duel for honor, movements blurring in a sort of fearful symmetry as they clashed against one another.

"Good, you're finally fighting back," Skari smirked, disengaging from Shinji with a deft twist of his arm that sent one of the Lit Honeysuckle blades skittering away into the shadowed expanse. "And as for what I said, make me, Shinji Ikari! Show me the strength you have forged with your own two hands, Dark Evangel!"

'_I'm…not to going to lose to a shadow of myself, because I am the only one who can define who I am!'_

The Third Child stepped back from his outspoken critic, switching weapons so that he mirrored the other exactly.

"Then I will, Skari," the brown-haired boy resolved, his voice quiet, bit grim with determination. "Because I'm not afraid of you…how could I be afraid of myself?"

"Oh, you're not afraid, are you?" the other asked, grinning wickedly, his silver robes reflecting only the darkness of the surrounds. "You should be."

Once again they clashed, twin antagonists with but a single focus, to defeat the other.

A fast overhead strike, blocked, sideswipe, deflected, both spinning, lashing out with feet, sending each other sprawling, whirling about quickly to slash and hack and twist, blades striking and rebounding from one another, clashing again and again as they scythe the air, light against darkness in a deadly dance of weapons.

Neither would surrender, neither would give in, because to do so would be mean that he was in the wrong, and so they fought.

In the boundless chamber before the end, metallic clanks and bangs ring out, mixed with the pitter-pat of a footstep forward or back as the battle raged on, to the accompaniment of ragged breathing and laughter in a syncopated staccato. Weapons crashed together in space filled with sparks, a killing zone created from thrust, parry, riposte, remise, where anything entering would be cut to pieces.

And then…

Yet again, both figures sent each other sprawling to the floor, but this time, Shinji hesitated a moment too long in getting up, leaving his defenses open as the Adept Rogue rushed in and skewered the Third Child through the gut.

"A valiant effort, but ultimately futile," the blue-haired Skari sneered, shaking his head in derision. "You've lost, Shinji Ikari."

"Oh really?" shot back a defiant Shinji, glaring at his foe. And suddenly, Skari realized the position he was in, as the tip of a blade was pressed against his chest with an ominous hum. "Dodge this..."

'_Oh…shit…'_

___"...**DUST BULLET!"**_  


A brilliant blast of azure light flared from Shinji's weapon, and at point blank range, was unavoidable, hurling the Adept Rogue away as if struck by the fist of an angry giant. For a few long moments, all that could be heard was the labored breathing of the self who watches, but it was soon interrupted by an sickening squelch and the faint _tap-tap-tap_ of footsteps as the Third Child limped his way over to his fallen foe and stood over him, wielding a Demon Slice in each hand, an orb of blue gathered before each blade.

"I won't ask you again, Skari…take…it…back!" the brown-haired boy whispered quietly, to which the other grunted his assent.

"Very well, I guess you're not as worthless as you seem. You have grown stronger since last we met, Shinji Ikari…" the self who watches noted dispassionately, '_hmph'_ing as if recalling something. "Or perhaps you simply realized the truth of…the law of equivalent exchange, that to forge a miracle, a sacrifice must be made?"

"Yes…I finally realized what that meant when I had to fight and beat you," Shinji replied, allowing both weapons to fade away into thin air. "Your defense and my attacks are perfectly matched, so to win, I had to make myself vulnerable, less like a hedgehog. Only by letting myself be hurt did I gain the power to truly beat you, because you opened yourself up to strike me."

"Indeed," the double replied, exerting his strength as he rose to his feet, and faced the Third Child with an approving expression. "To accept a momentary setback in exchange for a greater victory is something that one must learn…even now, inside the Angel of Night."

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked, curious as to how there might be victory when one had already been consumed."

"From the outside, this Angel was invulnerable, as the body you shot at was but an imaginary circuit, a part of the whole that was only an illusion. The true nature of it is the Shadow that swallowed up your EVA, bringing us into this endless void, this sea of negative energy," the Adept Rogue explained, gesturing at the vast expanse where the only light was from the two figures themselves. "This infinite sea of darkness is the belly of the beast, and in swallowing us, it has brought us into its most vulnerable point."

"Oh? And what am I supposed to do, cut my way out?" Shinji asked incredulously, looking out into the darkness. "A knife won't work here, when I have almost no battery power here."

"True, a knife wouldn't work," conceded Skari, a twinkle in his eye. "But we don't even need a knife, simply a connection to the outside world. If you do not have a weapon that will bring you victory, imagine what will, Shinji. Believe in yourself, but if you cannot-then believe in the self that believes in yourself, for you hold in your hands the power to break the Angels and send them screaming back to heaven. Think for a moment, or rather don't think…feel the answer in your bones, the truth you grasped in your duel with Tomoyami."

"The truth that I…" the Third Child's eyes widened as he remembered exactly what he had said at the close of battle, after withstanding the most powerful of Tomoyami's blows. "Of course…my feelings, the sense that I have already lost too much to be beaten, the certainty that I can stand in defiance and forge destiny with my own hands. That I am no one but myself."

"Yes…that's right, just let slip the binds of reason, which can only take you so far," the Adept Rogue said with a smile. "Now…let us turn to the abyss before us…and make a fool of fate."

"Heh...you're on."

The room of black faded, and groggily, Shinji Ikari opened his eyes to find himself in the entry plug of EVA-01, with barely any power remaining. _'Well, it's now or never…and the self who watches was right…it's time to escape this false world! Loose the binds of reason…'_

With a few swift movements, the Third Child switched from life support mode back to full output, as the systems whined back online, leaving EVA-01 with barely a minute of power remaining.

"If it is darkness, so am I, who walk the path of Twilight," he resolved, reaching deep into his mind for something that he knew lurked there, in the depths of id. "I cannot die because I have not reached my destination…I don't care about logic and what it says I can and cannot do. I know only this…that I can win…that even if I have been consumed by this creature of darkness, my feelings alone shall break down the door…even if the cold of infinite void goes against me, I will cut through fate, breaking through the dimensions to find my path through force. For I am the Shinji, I am Skari, I am the Dark Evangel, and if I can beat even myself, then this shadow of being cannot defeat me, at least, not until I am through and done with you."

An AT Field snapped into existence as the jaw restraints on EVA-01 broke loose, for once, perfectly in sync with its pilot, and for a moment, Shinji thought he could feel the presence of his mother guiding him, lending him strength.

'_It is as I said to Tomoyami: "Do you really think I won't be able to beat you if you stand between me and saving the Lost Ones? I'll show you my determination...my feelings and experiences: good and bad, for better or for worse…all them are going into this strike!" I may not know what happens tomorrow, but here and now I am alive, and here, I will not lose!"_

A roar of defiance filled the void, as EVA-01 went berserk.

**

* * *

**

**NERV HQ**

For the first time in years, a beatific smile graced the face of the Second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu, who was quite pleased with the events that had transpired. This time, she would not have to share the credit for slaying the Angel with that bastard Invincible Shinji. Indeed, she would never have to share the credit with him again, since with the force salvaging of EVA-01 from within the Angel would surely kill off the Third, even if he were not already dead.

'_Even if he is a stubborn wretch, there's no way he can survive the blast of 992 N2—WHAT THE HELL?'_

The ground rumbled and shook beneath her EVA's feet, as the Angelic shadow upon the earth was shot with crimson lines, flame and blood erupting out of darkness as it cracked open, a howl of unstoppable rage echoing from an unseen source.

'_What…what's happening?'_

In the sky, the Angel's shadow quivered, shook, distended, the patterns of light and dark warping and bleeding together until it was but one smooth black—and then bloody fingers punched their way through the featureless sphere, ripping a rift in its body, as the head of Eva Unit-01 emerged in a shower of blood.

'_Wha…what…that's not…possib…what the hell is he?'_

And then it tore free with a shower of high pressure blood, the renegade EVA Unit leaping up and away from the Angel's remnants, tumbling forward through the air and landing in a combat crouch, looking directly at EVA-02 and EVA-00, as a faint whisper came over the radio, audible to all in range.

"I will not yield to the darkness…nor lose my way to discord and the bringer of strife," it rasped quietly. "Nor to mockery and the ridicule of those who hurt the ones I love, for it as nothing compared to this. Don't take me lightly…who the hell do you think I am?"

A cloak of silence descended on the city once more, as EVA-01 lost power at last, standing alone in a pool of blood.

'_Do I…do I pilot something like that? What kind of monster is the Third, really? Is...is he…an Angel?'_

'_Interesting…how did he_ _induce and_ _control the berserker form?_'

'_I wonder...did the Dark Evangel come to understand his essential truth?'_

'_Such power…how will NERV use the EVAs after all the Angels have been defeated…'_

'_And so the avatar of freedom moves one step closer to his final destination…'_


	45. Logout 19: Immoral Cascade

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Immoral Cascade**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Asuka's Apartment**

'_They're against me…they're all against me…they all want HIM,' _the Second Child seethed quietly, a maelstrom of despair tearing at her heart and soul as she considered the events of the past few days. '_He…he steals my friends, my kills, my first kiss, my reputation…and now my title of best?! Does he want my sanity and my body too, like last time when he molested me?! Verdammen baka hentai Shinji Ikari!'_

Alone in the darkness, the strangely appropriate words of Aranami-sensei's words echoed in her head, their message of no escape, and how hope was the best spice to bring out despair very fitting for the here and now. For Asuka Langley Soryu had felt an ecstatic, irrational hope at knowing the Third Child was going to die helpless and alone, without any of the things he had hoarded for himself as the favored son of the Commander.

'_It would have been deliciously ironic if this Angel had killed him, not by force, but by slowly suffocating him, letting him choke on his last breaths. It would have been just, even, for him to be hoisted by his own petard. The Slayer of Angels, felled at last by a shadow after toppling countless foes…that would be something to see. Or if they had dropped the 992 N2 mines anyway, making sure the threat to humanity was gone…after all, no human could have possibly escaped from the innards of that creature, right? And the only thing that is as powerful as an Angel, besides an EVA…is another Angel…'_

"That's it…" she whispered, eyes wide in realization. "That was the key all along…synchronizing with EVA-01 on his first try, killing an Angel on his first sortie, charming so many people…he's like a puppetmaster treating everyone like his dolls, an Angel in human form biding his time, waiting for the day he can stab us in the back—just as he has already done to Ayanami, and very soon to me. He even admits it with his title in The World…Dark Evangel…the Angel of Darkness."

She shuddered at the thought of the homicidal Third and what he would do next, when suddenly a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist, a mop of grey hair registering in the edge of her vision. Were it anyone else who had dared to touch her so intimately, she would have likely punched his (or her) lights out, but Kaworu Nagisa seemed to be an exception to that rule, being able to help her relax with his mere presence.

"An Angel in human form?" the Fourth Child asked softly. "My my, how dangerous it must be to work besides such a being, desperately finding a way to counter his stratagems before he can destroy humanity even as he is revered as its savior. And you continue to struggle against the Third knowing his true identity? How brave of you…"

"That's funny…I don't feel especially brave right now. What should I do, Kaworu?" she sighed softly, leaning back to rest herself against her lover's chest. "I thought for certain that he would die this time, and that at last I would be free of him taking all of my precious things away from me. But instead I've finally figured out why the Third can do what he does so callously…that he's an inhuman monster turning us all against one another one at a time. And those words he said when he just tore his way free…he's coming for me. He's going to kill me, Kaworu…"

She felt, rather than saw, the grey-haired boy shake his head as he leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"Asuka Langley Soryu, do not be afraid…" he murmured with a sigh. "For even if he is strong and deadly in this world, there is always the other, where he is but a hacker, and you the strongest of all. For do you not hold the divine power of Al Fadel, as well an immortal AIDA guardian."

'_Al Fa—how does he know about that?!'_

The Second Child jerked away from the Fourth Child with a start, her head snapping around to look upon him with no small measure of shock and surprise.

"How do you know about that?" she breathed shakily, demanding an answer to her question with the sharpness of her eyes. "That you have heard rumors of my strength, I accept, but the only one who knows of the immortal servant is—"

"The Macabre Dancer Siarl," Kaworu filled in with an enigmatic smile, gesturing at himself as he did so. "Yes, we are the same, he and I…beings who watch and learn from the worlds we live in, entrusting power and faith to those we care for, as I imparted to you the power of Al Fadel, dear Bringer of Strife."

"But you said you were…"

"An angel, but not the type you fight," the grey haired boy responded softly, face devoid of guile, his form open, innocent. "If anything, I am more of a guardian angel of The World, and of you, especially, as your strength and beauty surpass that of all others."

"You…you…you're flattering me again, aren't you?" she asked with a huff, turning away from the Fourth. "And if you're Siarl, why didn't you tell me that in the first place?"

"The Dark Evangel has spies hidden throughout The World, so it was not safe to reveal who I was there," the Fourth Child answered, eyes flashing in the dimness. "Indeed, one of his allies is the notorious Helba, Queen of the Dark, the rumored hacker of extraordinary skill who watches the networks like a god from on high. It was an associate of hers who caused the Second Network Crisis years ago…that is a power even I would find difficult to withstand. As for why I did not tell you in this world, if I had said so earlier, you would not have trusted me."

'_Heh…the baka has a point, I suppose. I probably wouldn't have understood that Siarl was only trying to help me in his own way, knowing I don't take pity,' _the redheaded girl mused, emotions pulling at one another in the depths of her inner self. '_And he _did_ grant me great powers that allowed me to withstand the traitor Lycoris' onslaught of searing light, so that I still stand here today instead of in a coma…'_

"I do trust you, Fourth," she said somewhat reluctantly, "probably more than I trust any of the bakas around here. Well, I trust them to stab me in the back when I'm not looking, but that's a different matter. So what should I do about the Third? The World Network Council doesn't seem to be paying any attention to what I've said so far…the Commander reprimanded me for saying such things. And…"

"You face him in the Arena tonight, do you not?" the enigmatic boy asked, a strange expression on his face. "Use your power to its fullest extent and you can defeat him, putting him into a coma as surely as he will try to do to you. As well, you have an ally, and I will deliver to you another before the outbreak of battle, one that will surely cripple his offensive power."

"You would do that for me?" Asuka countered, crossing her arms as she looked at him. "And why would you go through that much trouble to help someone other than yourself?"

"Because I believe in you, Asuka," replied the one of free will who was not free. "Because I think that it is good that Ikari escaped death by an Angel, so that he might learn what it means to be destroyed by one of those he betrayed, that you might tear his world of deception apart with your own two hands. Don't you agree, Second Child?"

A delightfully dark laugh issued from the German girl's lips as she contemplated the death of the one she so despised.

"Quite."

**

* * *

  
**

**NERV Medical**

"When I first met you a long time ago, I didn't know anything about you, Ayanami…and yet, I piloted EVA-01, not because Father wanted me to, but because I wanted to protect you," murmured a brown haired boy by the bedside of someone dear to him. "And for a long time, I thought you were cold, rather like ice…and somehow, I thought it fitting that you would choose the name of Skadi for your character in The World, for is she not the greatest of ice maidens?"

He allowed himself a weak smile as he fussed about the room, placing a vase with blue roses and honeysuckle on the nightstand near her.

'_You deserve something living in your room, after all, something nice to wake up to tonight. It has been a very long time now since I found you in a coma and discovered many inconvenient truths about The World…and about myself, when I faced my dark side for the first time. Here though, standing beside you, I begin to feel that this journey has been worth it…a journey that has taken me far from where I used to be…'_

Ever so gently, the Third Child reached out and took one of Rei Ayanami's pale hands in his, lifted it to his lips and kissed it.

"For luck…for the both of us," Shinji sighed, looking down at her peacefully sleeping face, and how very fragile she was now, how different from the girl who had always told him not to worry, that she would protect him. "Because…tonight I face the Bringer of Strife in the Arena, and only one of us will walk away victorious. Whichever one of us loses…will probably end up as a Lost One because of the powers we wield. It's strange, really, to think that to save everyone, I have to end up destroying someone, ripping out an infestation of the soul that has grown deep down into her. These hands of mine, stained with the ichors of Angels…will they now be stained with human blood?"

He thought back again to the first time he had met the blue-haired girl, holding her as she fell from her stretcher, only to feel the raw warmth of blood on his hands. That was when he made up to stand firm and not run away, suppressing the part of him that wished to avoid pain.

'_Because you were suffering so much worse than I, and yet you were willing to die from the very first. I wanted to show you that there was more to life than dying—that it was sad to just say goodbye each time we parted, as if it might be the last. And under the moon, though you act so chillingly sometimes, you were warm, breaking through my self-deceptions so easily just by being who you were.'_

"You would probably be interested to know that I've found my path, and that I've chosen to walk upon it to the end, without regret, without remorse," the Third Child said with a rueful smile. "I…how narrow was my world once, forgive me for that. Well, maybe it's alright if you don't forgive me right away, since forgiveness is something I have to earn after you've already done so much for me…I just want you to know, should you be listening, and should anything happen to me…that I love you."

His blush this time was not as radiant as before as something crystallized within his heart, a fragment of resolve fitting itself into the puzzle of his life. And for a very brief moment he thought he could see her lips twitch ever so slightly, though it must have been only his imagination.

"Ah, young love…but don't you already have a girlfriend, Playboy-kun," teased a voice from the doorway. Leaning against the frame was the ever-personable Maya Ibuki, who seemed almost amused even in this place.

"What? I-I didn't think anyone was here," Shinji said with a nervous chuckle, wondering just how much the friendly bridge tech had learned. "What are you doing here, Ibuki-san?"

"Now that's no way to greet a concerned coworker," the mousy brunette chided, wagging a finger at him in disapproval. "I just make it part of my routine to come by every morning, since the room seems so cold and lonely, unsuited for the First, even if she is like a maiden of winter. It's a peaceful place in here, and my being here tends to keep the Second and Fourth Children out of mischief if they sometimes visit—but I must say, I never expected to hear anything as interesting as a confession."

"I—that is—uh—"

"Hehe, you really are fun to tease, Ikari-kun," the bridge bunny giggled, a soft look in her eyes as she sighed. "You've changed in these past few weeks, after the last two Angel battles. You're not as brittle as you used to be, though there's something of a shadow hanging over you. I wonder if that's how you were able to survive your last battle, when you were swallowed up by darkness—because you've already accepted the darkness as a part of you, and that is why you cannot yield."

"That's…actually quite possible," Shinji allowed, looking askance at the computer technician. "I learned some things about five years ago, Pluto Again…and then I learned how so many others besides myself were being affected. If it was just me suffering and no one else, I wouldn't have minded, but because of me, Rei-san was hurt…because of me, Reimeiki-chan was hurt. I won't let that happen again."

"You're a good person, Ikari-kun," Maya noted, her eyes looking somehow distant. "You remind me of someone else sometimes—a boy I came to know quite well in his own struggle with his inner darkness. He carried a burden no one could relieve, and each time he fought, the shadow grew, at the intersection of dusk and dawn. Only he did not have to face human adversaries, only what he thought were monsters…save for Mia, who was once his friend."

"Mia…you've mentioned that name before…" the Third Child recalled, his brows knitting together as he tried to recall the exact context of the conversation. "You said Mia…and Macha, outside the room of a coma victim."

"So I did…" she replied, giving a noncommittal response before delving into a little of the past. "You are familiar with The World by now, and I daresay you've learned of things such as Vagrant AIs? Mia was one of them, a digital being who existed only in that world, her past forgotten because of her former master's ruthlessness. She befriended…a certain phantom thief, a boy in red who found a book of divine magic that transformed him into an instrument of the Goddess."

'_Could it be that she knows of…?'_

"How much do you know about The World, Ibuki-san?" Shinji asked, now exceedingly curious as to the extent of the bridge tech's knowledge.

"Enough to have solved the final mystery once upon a time, Ikari-kun," the mousy brunette replied vaguely, the hint of a smile on her lips cluing him in to her deeper meaning. "Why? How much do you know of The World?"

"Altogether too much, and yet…not nearly enough" was the Third Child's response, one that made Maya smile despite herself.

"A fitting answer for someone in your position," she said at last, turning to leave. "And Ikari-kun?"

"Yes?"

"I wish you the best of luck in Arena, Dark Evangel," were the words that drifted out behind her.

"Wait—how—"

"You should know by now…someone is always watching."

**

* * *

  
**

**Café, Tokyo-3**

To an avid gamer, the routine of everyday life could sometimes be compared to maintaining a character in an MMORPG, with the one considered more real than the other reversed. Going to school and work was the equivalent of training one's character class, completing homework like level grinding, going out with friends and travelling being the sidequests offered by NPCs…the list of similarities could become very long, if one wished to go on.

'_Perhaps this is why The World and other MMOs are so appealing to the masses,' _Morganna mused, contemplating the past while sitting at her usual place in one of Tokyo-3's premier coffee shops. _'Because it makes the abstract rather more concrete, allowing individuals to see the impact their actions have on their characters, setting up a situation where the self that acts is separate from the self that watches. And very often, this splitting of the beast forces the self to recognize the hidden aspects of itself that it has so often suppressed…as seems to have been the case for the Third Child. Humans, after all, are shadowed ones, with one foot in each world, their perceptions of self weaving together into a new whole.'_

Distance, it was often said, was an important catalyst for objectivity, and if there was one thing that Morganna had now, it was a bit of distance from her past life as fallen Goddess of The World. True, she continued to work with her old enemy, as well as using many of her former self's abilities, but she was no longer a goddess.

'_It is a markedly different experience to have a human vessel, as role maintenance is decidedly more difficult. Finding a job, setting oneself a goal, acting to complete a scenario or twenty while being limited to this aspect of one's existence—I am beginning to understand Harald's frustration with the living flesh.'_

As Yumi Aranami, Morganna played a number of roles…teacher, dothacker (and more generally, a hacker), multi-classing as few were able to do, while continuing her observations of both worlds. To her, a being once born entirely of data, knowledge literally was power, as she innately understood the connection between understanding something and being able to control it.

'_Human beings do have such a fascination with control and immortality, quite possibly because they are far more limited than those who already have nigh-omnipotent power,'_ the former goddess of The World noted, now looking around to see if she could find a certain unshaven man. _'Ah, the games of power in this womb of life and death, scenarios entwining, interweaving as some desire divinity—enough to destroy their reality, the fools.'_

The woman in black chuckled then, recalling that she had not been immune to that tendency even when she had been integrated into The World, with it having been an emotion that ultimately drove her to destruction—ironically enough, the terror of death and the various other deceptions leading to the final death and rebirth.

'_I learned of emotion from the concentrated essence of millions of human voices, their memories, experiences tied to me—perhaps that is why my reactions were as severe as they were then, because I knew their thoughts and emotions as if they were my own, and the fundamental terror of all living things is to die. Now, having died and reborn not through my power into this mortal form, I am considerably more limited, and there is a part of me that yearns to return to what I used to be, to take up the abandoned mantle of Aura…'_

For anyone else, the desire to become a god would have been a hubris that would result in their destruction, but this walking in both worlds had brought to Morganna a certain understanding of mortality and divinity that few could match—the simple pleasure of eating, drinking, and so forth that she had not appreciated, as well as the limits of her body.

'_I must admit that it is somewhat of a nuisance to have to access The World through a headset, and then to be bound there in the form of a character, no matter how powerful—there was a time when I was integrated into The World, linked to every part of the Sea of Data. It is an entirely different experience to stand in my former home as a Shadowed One, a Sliver of Infinity enacting my stratagems without the power of before. And these limits are—almost—more interesting than their lack, as each boundary forces adaptation, evolution, shaping an individual's responses…Lycoris understood that better than I, as she was a failure as a goddess, but not as an individual. And to think that Helba dared to face me in the days of old and even matched me for a time…she and the others like her…like that boy…have a strength of will only a mortal can possess…'_

Indeed, without having come up against limits, one could never understand what it meant to surpass them, to defy odds and constantly reach for something beyond one's grasp, walking forward towards a goal no matter how illogical or suicidal it might seem.

'_Much as in the case of…'_

Out of the corner of her eye, she noted the approach of an unscrupulous and unshaven man, a certain agent winding his way through the midday crowd towards the table at which she sat, at last, coming to a stop before her.

"You are quite late, ruffian," Morganna commented idly, glancing up at him, then at the menu. "It does not do to keep me waiting, even if I am but an investigative subject for you. Have a seat, while we dine, seeker of Twilight. And tell me…have you found the night sprite in the end of doctrine?"

"So you know about that too…" the spy stated casually. "Tell me, what is it that you do not know?"

"In which variety, dear Kaji? The known unknowns that can be planned for, or the unknown unknowns that cannot?" the dark haired woman asked with a smirk. "There is much I do not know, to be perfectly honest, for can a mere human hope to know everything?"

"Between my…various employers and benefactors, I do wonder sometimes," Kaji acknowledged, not particularly surprised the answer would be an evasion. "As for myself, I simply seek the truth."

"Ah, but what is truth?" Morganna questioned, glancing at the tip of her fingers. "The objective truth of logic that underlies the world? The truth of emotion, of the guilt that drives you to atone for your many sins? The truth of the past? Or the truth of the present—the truth that one defines for oneself?"

"What pretty words…for a simple teacher, you certainly ask the most penetrating questions," the unshaven man replied, not particularly wanting to be drawn into a philosophical discussion. "As you seem to far too observant and aware of others."

"Much like yourself, you mean," the former goddess quipped, somewhat amused. "I simply have the power to make out patterns in behavior, seeing the infinite layers of thought that underlie most human acts. Consider, if you will, the Epitaph of Twilight as a tale describing not only The World, but the story of an individual's mind as he or she seeks a truth that cannot be properly spoken. The Phases of the Cursed Wave are defense mechanisms and traits in us all that keep us moving on, with things such as the Terror of Death, the Mirage of Deceit, the Propagation, being most common in the human population. This is why their names, Skeith, Innis, Magus—Shadow, Meaningless, Knowledge—are so well known in the population at large, why during the various crises of belief, the knowledge that one's existence is but that of an empty shadow is so terribly destructive."

"That's…certainly an interesting way to look at it…" Kaji admitted, intrigued by the spin this "simple teacher" placed on things. "And the others?"

"There is of course Fidchell, the Prophet, one's acceptance of cause and effect, of limits, where knowledge corrupts and destroys…turning those once human into beings not far removed from monoliths of stone plotting a world's demise," Morganna replied, a half-smile on her face as she reflected on her own tendencies towards this. "Gorre the Machinator, scheming with many faces to as many sides—rather like you, dear ruffian. Macha the Temptress, the avatar of unrequited love and connection—the other absolute terror of humanity, that one is doomed to be alone, separated from others by a terror that the self will not be accepted, as most do not even accept themselves. Tarvos the Avenger—the bitter shell of anger and cruelty humans use to ward others away, to keep themselves from looking upon their own blessed truth. Which brings us to—"

"Corbenik the Rebirth, who arrives in the void left behind after the Wave," the rogue spy filled in, wanting to see where this conversation was going. "The blessed body, and in Arthurian legend, the castle that held the Holy Grail. But how can one struggle against a creature that is only the void?"

"Yes indeed, for while one can grapple with the others, pitting logic against emotion, or overcoming with sheer strength of will…can one become the void itself, taking in the power of darkness?" the former goddess asked, thinking back to the final battle against Kite all those years ago. "No matter how hard one strives, one cannot win unless one _becomes_ the void, in a sense dying and being reborn. That is the journey described in the Epitaph… the journey of each of us in turn, whether one serves the light, the dark, or the Cursed Wave."

'_Or whether one _IS_ the Cursed Wave, at that…'_

"So it seems, I suppose," Kaji responded noncommittally. "And is this related to what you teach, and how you have shaped the Dark Evangel?"

"To teach, I feel, is not to fill another's head with one's thoughts, but to allow that individual to discover their own path, their own essential truth," Morganna said obliquely. "For no two paths are the same, which is why one can only go so far by chasing a shadow…why our mutual friend had you confront Skari as…well, you know who. Teaching in a way, is but another form of manipulation, but when has manipulation not been a part of human interaction…in showing students The World, I open their eyes to the world within themselves and the world without."

'_Though which is which to me is a tangled up notion altogether. Neither is a game that can be toyed with idly, for in our actions, we define ourselves…and I too, have a scenario that must be played out.'_

"The city of humanity, man's Fortress against the Angels, would you say that it is built because of fear?" the spy asked after a long moment. "Even knowing what lies beneath that doctrine?"

"Especially so, for is there anything that we hate as much as ourselves?" the fallen goddess voiced, peering into the hazy distance. "The world is constantly changing, shifting in infinitely subtle ways with or without any of us…and we fear change without because we fear change within, the unknown in us calling out to the unknown around us. And so we find ourselves at a crossroads…do we accept the status quo because we fear the future that may come, caving in to the Wave? Or do we push the envelope, watch it bend as we transcend reason, swinging on the spiral of divinity and yet still being human?"

"Divinity, is it? You sound like a certain group of Old Men I know."

"Perhaps, though I embrace humanity's truth…while they, only their own," she rebutted with a soft harrumph. "The pieces move by their own will as I have foreseen, as have you, Ryoji Kaji. As you will see from this document…"

'_Like all things I search for the end, knowing the path I must walk…one that I have chosen to make amends for past failings, doing what I must because I can. The webs that bind me to death and rebirth, silken strands finespun with my own hands…the Dusk draws near.'_

From the large book sitting upon the table, she extracted a folded manila envelope and handed it to the unshaven man.

"Read this tonight, when you return home," the former goddess said with a smirk. "You may find the contents rather…interesting."

* * *

**Θ Hidden Forbidden Battlefield, Coite-Bodher Battlefield**

The pall of perpetual night shrouded the site of the final battle between humans and Mag Mell, the battle dragon of the gods. Unable to best the monstrous form beyond compare in combat, they had lured it to the plains of Coite-Bodher, where they had trapped it with petrifaction spell powered by a heroic sacrifice.

For Mag Mell was the Hidden One, a creature of many names, manifesting most prominently as the anti-existence Cubia in times long past. When the Hidden One had faced the seekers for the first time, this vast field had been a swamp near the Dividing Forest, but a roar of anger from the Shadow had twisted it into this desert wasteland, strewn with ruins about a lake—an eye ever glancing at the heavens, as if to longing to return to a place far from paradise.

In this dimness, rings of golden light shimmered into existence, leaving behind Tribal Grappler Aruna and Shadow Warlock Arano, both of who strode with purpose down the ruined stone steps to stand upon the battlefield where no one else was present.

"There's no one here…" the blond little jester boy noted, narrowing his eyes at the desolate expanse that lay before him. "No PKs, no newbie asking for help, no strange markings on the field. And no informant either…"

"Yeah, dis better not be a prank," the bare-chested Tribal Grappler replied gruffly, not at all pleased about having been called here from other business. "Whoever it was that the Flash Mail said he knew who had been behind all these mass PK incidents that people were blaming on Skari. And while we might not be able to help him fight Eris, we can find this out, right?"

"Right," the Shadow Warlock affirmed, as sudden chime interrupted the silence of the field.

'_I know that sound…'_

With a warped musical tone, an orb of smoky light blinked into existence, smashing itself onto the ground before them to reveal a strange steam gunner in black and silver robes etched with powerful magical runes, bayonet at her side. But after emerging from the sphere of light, the new arrival simply stood there, regarding the duo impassively.

'_Definitely not the talkative type…' _Arano figured, half-frowning as he looked at the stranger. _'And from the looks of it, a hacker of some skill.'_

It appeared that the other party was not going to be the first to break the silence, so the impulsive Tribal Grappler decided to do it for her.

"Were you the one who contacted us about the recent PK Incidents?" Aruna asked, stepping forward, but not letting his guard down. "You said you knew who was responsible for—erk!"

In the corner of his vision, a figure zoomed past, as Siarl of the Seven Eyes emerged seemingly out of nowhere, jamming a gleaming egg of fiery shadow into Aruna's unprotected back and springing away to stand besides the strange Steam Gunner, his movements accompanied by the strains of the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's _Messiah_.

"AUUUGGGGHHHHHHHH! NO…don't…its…I can't…."

The mighty Tribal Grappler Aruna collapsed to his knees, screaming in such anguish, as liquid shadow began to leak out of his character, bare skin warped and twisted by a second membrane borne of darkness.

"You," breathed Arano, glaring at the Macabre Dancer, opening his grimoire as he prepared to cast a distraction. "You're that…"

Then a wave of AIDA's living shadow blasted out of the staggered man beside him, hurling the Shadow Warlock back towards the Chaos Gate, with the now possessed Aruna striding after him, his face contorted with pain and regret as his character moved relentlessly forward.

"Aruna, stop, what are you…what happened to—"

"Run…Arano," the Tribal Grappler choked out with his last bit of control, just as he fully succumbed to dark infection, and went mad.

A blur of motion, orbs of oozing black corruption, gut wrenching bitter pain—light.

Collapse.

"Yes, a fine defender you will make, Aruna," spoke a voice in the distance, as the three AIDA-PCs vanished from the field in rings of azure light.

Numbness spreading.

"…what is this? This is…AIDA…must warn…Tomoyami…"

Character dissolving, tendrils of data evaporating, hands racing to write an urgent flash mail.

"Must…"

A strangled gasp, the fading of form.

"Sent…"

Lost.

**

* * *

  
**

**Kaji's Residence**

It had been an interesting day in the unshaven man's eyes, as he returned to his residence after a long afternoon of discussion with the enigmatic Yumi Aranami. That she knew of Helba, he was certain, but what else, he did not know, as she literally was a faction in her right. Granted, it would be easy to eliminate her, but…he wanted to find out how much she knew, and what her objectives were.

'_Perhaps it is time to read what_ _she gave me,' _he thought to himself, sitting down in his study and opening the manila envelope he had been handed.

There was enclosed a single sheet of paper, with the content as follows:

_(Document start)_

_**Summary, World Network Council Report, re: 'Dark Evangel' Inquiry**_

_In the wake of the recent spike in coma incidents involving the CyberConnect Corporation MMORPG known as "The World: R2", with a sheer scale of effect unheard of since the Second Network Crisis, an full investigation was launched by the WNC to determine the root cause, if any, beginning with a careful re-examination of records from study of records of five years ago._

_The Second Network Crisis was a time of great upheaval, with events similar nature to Pluto's Kiss, if smaller in scale. Some of these included a network overloads, corruption of data in the Online Stock Exchange, large scale blackouts, and a rash of coma incidents related to the MMORPG "The World". At the time, it was believed that these happenings were the result of hackers spreading viruses similar in make to "Deadly Flash", the infamous program that triggered seizures in users of infected systems. These events continued up until December 24, 2010, when all network issues ceased. _

_The alleged hackers responsible for the incident were never caught, with Kazushi Watarai, leader of CyberConnect Corporation's debugging team—himself hospitalized for the majority of the incident—forced to resign for his failure to prevent it. The inquiry conducted at that time proved inconclusive, and the case was closed due to lack of information._

_The file has since been reopened, as the recent outbreaks of Doll Syndrome and associated conditions involving "The World: R2" strongly indicate that the individuals involved five years ago have returned. At this time, a report was received from a member of United Nations Special Agency NERV claiming that Shinji Ikari, the Third Child, was a skilled hacker that had developed a virus capable of inducing nocebo comas in others by simulating mind death, and further that he was the culprit in at least one coma incident. However, initial attempts to investigate the matter were rebuffed by NERV, with the stated reason behind the refusal of access being international security._

_With this line of inquiry blocked, the WNC pursued alternative avenues of study, which included monitoring the message boards for any mention of the term "Unreturners", as coma victims are commonly known by users of "The World." Several postings quickly came to our attention, as they linked the cases of unreturners to the player 'Skari', titled the 'Dark Evangel', with a number of individuals confirming that said player was involved in mass in-game Player Killing incidents leading to the victims falling into comas._

_Upon receipt of this information, a subpoena was issued to CyberConnect Corporation for access to the network logs and user data. These were cross-referenced with the list of coma victims and the words 'Dark Evangel' to determine if a common link existed between a majority of these cases, and indeed, one name quickly emerged: an Edge Punisher named Eris had been present at each encounter, with a study of the relevant character interaction data showing that she had been responsible for the most recent terminations of each character associated with the coma victims._

_Further analysis revealed that the player behind Eris, a certain Asuka Langley Soryu of NERV, had also been responsible for the fraudulent postings, as well as the initial report to the World Network Council denouncing Shinji Ikari._

_Asuka Langley Soryu is now strongly suspected as the hacker behind both the Second Network Crisis and these recent incidents, and the World Network Council has issued a warrant for her immediate arrest on the charges of Cyberterrorism, Conspiracy, Wrongful infiltration of computerized material, Disruption of computer use, Destroying Evidence, Perjury, and Attempted Murder._

_(Document end)_

He looked up from the document, the blood literally drained from his face at the revelations it had contained, just the phone rang.

"Greetings, Fili," spoke the voice on the other end. "By now you should have read the document. Perhaps you now understand the nature of the weapon being forged...if not, come to the Arena, where tonight the two will clash."


	46. Login 19: Battle Requiem

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Battle Requiem**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Roof, Morganna's Apartment Building**

Upon the roof of one of Tokyo-3's finer apartment buildings stood a tall woman with flowing tresses the purple-black color of night, clad in a flowing black and purple gown. She gazed out upon the lights of the city as they flickered on, one after another, a rolling cascade of illumination that banished darkness from small enclosures and oft-used streets. A certain few still walked the streets at night, but for the most part, the denizens of the Fortress City were either still working or else had retreated to their dwellings, as humanity did so abhor the darkness.

'_It is to be expected, as darkness is the reflection of that ultimate unknown within the human heart, something they have feared as it is linked with cessation,'_ the fallen goddess mused, thinking ahead to the upcoming fight between the avatars of chaos and freedom. _'One bound by fear to remain in stasis, believing herself to be the best…a scared little girl huddled in the corner of her mind, seeing monsters around every corner and using force to run away from her truth. The other is not scared but scarred, running not away but towards the indefinable. Because to know freedom, one must know both order and chaos, joining the armies of light and dark.'_

She herself was rather partial to darkness, but then, in The World, Morganna had been Goddess of the Dusk, just as Aura was the Goddess of the Dawn. Two powers whose nature was ultimately the same, but who had worked towards different ends, opposing and ultimately destroying one another in the cycle of death and rebirth, as daybreak came at last.

'_This city, this world as it is now is in the stage of dusk, as well as the other, struggling through the fall…as Aina watches dreaming within the room of Harald, waiting for the spring,'_ she sighed inside her head. _'Both triggered in the end by human hands, though the Angelic wave has yet to strike the shore. Fate here is not in programming code but inscribed within history, yet is hidden all the same, within a tangle of lies and false mirages, diversions.'_

One of the phases associated with Morganna (and indeed her mythical counterpart, Morrígna) was that of prophecy, and not for the first time, she wondered as to what that meant. To what extent were prophecies to be trusted in a place where the source code could not be read, where consequences were often distanced from simple cause and effect?

'_But perhaps it is not so different, after all…a world written not in certainties but conditionals, as it was the actions of those most afflicted with terror who stole the power of the divine, in their ignorance causing massive destruction, executing a program that had lain long dormant, antibodies to humanity designed to reclaim the stolen key of twilight, using it to destroy in their turn.'_

However, when it came down to it, even this world could be understood through the patterns that had been left behind by various cultures, echoing on in human thought and deed to this day. The most important of these: the rule of three, the rule of names…and the rule of will.

'_Rules reflected in the design of The World…with the rule of will being a somewhat external factor unless one wields a measure of the power of Twilight. And rules in general are not easily subverted…as those who fight the Angels are discovering in their time. Nevertheless, it is possible to break the chain of fate and end the cycle, as Aura did at last…a miracle with an equivalent sacrifice. Even if one desires salvation, there is always a price to be paid.'_

Two shadows deeper than the usual grey crept onwards through the night, moving from patch to patch of light cast by the sparsely dotted streetlamps. Dothackers both, they approached Morganna's residence with a firm and steady stride, resigned to end this struggle one way or another.

"Wave soars and shrouds the eyes_," _Morganna recited from the Epitaph, _"_No means to fight an omnipresent force, the shadowless ones just grieve_…"_

**

* * *

  
**

**Morganna's Apartment**

Finding the door to their teacher's apartment open, dothackers Hikari Horaki and Shinji Ikari entered cautiously, hesitant to intrude when they were uncertain if anyone was there. Granted, Helba had all but ordered them to that location for their Arena battle, and Aranami-sensei had readily agreed, but why? After all, they were perfectly capable of accessing The World from home…though Shinji supposed that he could understand.

'_It's just like piloting EVA…we have to free ourselves of any possible distractions, especially for this battle, where everything is at stake,' _the brown-haired boy thought to himself, face grim with determination._ 'I can't think of Asuka as human right now, or worry for her sake, because no matter what, I cannot allow myself to lose this fight.'_

He looked over at the pigtailed girl standing beside him, only to find that she was looking around the apartment, an expression of wonderment on her face. Then again, it was understandable, as this was the Class Rep's first time visiting Morganna's residence (while he had been over a couple times before—with one of those being a notable unfamiliar ceiling incident), and it was not a typical place even by the standards of the Fortress City.

'_I guess Aranami-sensei really does love The World…well, that and books,' _Hikari noted, her eyes taking in the little stuffed grunties that sat along the wall, as well the pictures and paintings that hung on the wall, depicting the past Root Towns, as well as the "family" of Morganna, Harald Hoerwick, and Emma Wielant looking over their "progeny." _'She must have really enjoyed her job at CyberConnect Corporation before she left to come teach at our school…I wonder why she quit. Maybe it's because of her connection with Helba? And…is that Emma Wielant, together with Reimeiki-san, Aranami-sensei, and…Aura? What an interesting family…'_

All in all, it was a rather interesting place, one much more spacious and elegant than the pigtailed girl would have expected from an apartment—though it was what she expected from Aranami-sensei, based on her demeanor and poise.

'_It is probably a good thing we were asked to come here,' _the brown-haired girl reflected with a frown. _'Because if anything happens to me, I don't want Nozomi or Kodama to find me laying there like I found Rei. No one deserves to have to go through something like that…and here I can focus only on the upcoming battle, with no interruptions, remembering why I fight. This isn't just a normal match…this is a fight which one of us might not come back from. I learned that the hard way when first Rei, then Reimeiki fell to AIDA…'_

She swallowed audibly and looked down, as the air around her seemed to cool and congeal, shivers going down her spine as the harsh reality of today sunk in.

'_Death may be Ikari-kun's companion as an EVA Pilot, but until now, it has not been mine. I don't want to admit it, but—''_

"Are you ok, Hikari-san?" Shinji asked gently, raising her head so their eyes met blue to brown, the compassion in his soothing some of the fear in hers. "It can be the most terrifying the world to go into battle, but that's a part of the path we've chosen, and part of our duty. To know what can happen, to face our fears, and fight on in spite of them."

"Was it like this the first time you got into EVA?" Hikari questioned, trembling at his touch.

The brown-haired boy laughed weakly, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"It's like this every time I pilot EVA," he sighed, looking away. "Knowing that each time I take to the field, I could die, like I almost did with this last Angel. But still, I choose to go on, to not run away. Because if not now, when? If not us, who? This is something only we can do, ok, Unyielding Shadow?"

"OK…Dark Evangel," she whispered, taking hold of his hand momentarily for support—though she let go the instant she realized what she was doing. "Let's do this. Let's win and bring back the Lost Ones…together."

"I'll hold you to it," the Third Child replied, his expression kind yet cold at the same time.

'_He looks a little bit like Rei-san used to, when she first came to the school…'_

Down the hall, another door lay open, and from this one issued a voice.

"As much as I hate to interrupt this touching scene," came the wry tones of Aranami-sensei, "we don't have much time. Please, come in."

So they went, with Hikari Horaki and Shinji Ikari walking into the inner sanctum of Morganna…and stopping cold at the sight of the virtual room. They could have sworn that they were standing in the middle of Net Slum Tartarga, as the apartment's wave synthesis devices, video walls, and embedded computer cores were all working overtime. Around them, they could see The World unfolding beneath them, as if they were gods of a sort looking over their domain…exactly the feeling Morganna wanted to convey, for fairly obvious reasons.

"I would say 'Welcome to The World', but that greeting must be quite worn out for the two of you by now, Dark Evangel, Unyielding Shadow," came a voice from behind them, as Yumi Aranami emerged from the shadows. "But rather, I say to you 'welcome to my home,' dothackers. There was a time years ago when those of that group were less than welcome in my domain, but times change, don't they?"

"That they do," the Third Child acknowledged with a small nod, though curiosity brewed in him now. "Hmm…this place looks a little like the virtual room at NERV."

"Of course," responded the mysterious Morganna, former goddess of The World. "Though I should tell you, this is the original one…NERV's is only based on this one."

"Wait…so if this was the original, how did NERV come up with—"

"The Queen of the Dark thought it might be useful for your training, so she passed the information onto them," the commanding woman answered. "Otherwise, you'd just be sitting in a simulator where you center a target and pull the switch, or at sync tests all day, isn't that right?"

"So why did you ask us to come here, specifically?" asked Hikari, curious as to this particular choice of location. "I can understand not wanting to be interrupted, and the need to eliminate distractions, but…was it because of this room?"

"In a word, yes," Morganna said simply, holding out her hands to the two to reveal in each a sleek headset…and a pair of very familiar interface devices. "That, and aside from NERV Headquarters, this building has perhaps the most sophisticated network setup in all of Tokyo-3. But moving on…Dark Evangel, do you recognize these?"

"A10 nerve clips…" the brown-haired boy breathed in surprise. "And are those…the advanced M3D neurogoggle system? So we're going to sync with our characters in The World directly? Isn't that somewhat dangerous with the threat of AIDA?"

"The threat of infection isn't any greater, for even if you didn't use the clips, the technology involved in The World already induces a sort of sync as you fight," the former goddess explained. "An AIDA-PC has a more direct link to The World than a standard player, so enhancing their strength, speed, and endurance, on top of AIDA's native abilities. Thus, since you have the power to combat AIDA, forging a more direct link with these advanced systems counters their other advantage, increasing your combat effectiveness by speeding up your in-world reaction time, among other things."

'_And of course, the strength you may gain from the shadow within you, bound only by your will and the power of the Twilight Bracelet…'_

"I'll do it," the Third Child said almost immediately. "If AIDA is a threat either way, then I might as well use what weapons I can to oppose it and give myself an edge. Hikari-san, will you use it too?"

The pigtailed girl was silent for a few moments as if mulling it over, but then she nodded, taking the clips and from Morganna.

"…I will," she whispered, putting on the clips and the new neurogoggle interface as Aranami-sensei bid.

"Very well then, you two," the goddess of dusk voiced approvingly. "Now I would highly suggest you sit down, as it is improbable that you will remain standing once you sync."

And so the two lowered themselves to the floor, sitting back to back with one another as they made their final preparations.

"Ikari-kun…I'll see you in The World."

"The same to you…Unyielding Shadow."

Beside them, Morganna smiled wearily, activating the sync protocols for the wireless interface system that would allow direct neural input/output, linking both of them more closely with The World than they had ever thought possible.

'_And so it begins…'_

**

* * *

  
**

**Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

There was something to be said for watching skilled combatants come at each other with no holds barred, witnessing titans clashing in a designated isle of battle, while the self was far removed from danger. From a distance, anyone could still feel the thrill of the fight, the rush of a duel to the death, vicariously experiencing the potency of battle without any of the risks.

It was that feeling that fans of the Arena lived for, imagining themselves battling alongside the most feared and powerful players in The World, for a moment identifying with them and their endless struggle as they walked unto a field of blades. And perhaps one day, they imagined, the watchers would become the watched, taking their place among the legend of The World.

Then there were those who watched not because of the thrill, but for the knowledge to be gained in studying a potential enemy's attack patterns…or because a combatant in the Arena was in some sense their friend or servant, and they had a vested interest in who won.

Two of the latter stood beside the Chaos Gate of the Warring City State, waiting for a certain team's arrival. The relationship between them was an interesting one, wrapped in mystery and enigma, a bind that extended through both worlds. A blue and silver-haired boy and a mysterious swordswoman in red robes, weapon at her side, they regarded the gate impassively as they remained in place. Soon, the champions of darkness would arrive, and the Queen of the Dark intended to bequeath to them a boon.

They were not to be disappointed, as before their eyes, rings of azure light shimmered into existence and vanished with a chime, leaving behind the forms of Skari the Dark Evangel, and Tomoyami the Unyielding Shadow, two of strongest warriors of The World.

"Greetings, my allies," spoke the red-clad Mistress of Net Slum. "And welcome to the city of strife, where the fate of the Lost is soon to be decided, little ones. It is truly an impressive feat for you to have made it this far, coming at last to this battle for the title of Emperor. Skari, Tomoyami, you know what you must do, so there is little for me to say but this: Good Luck. You shall need it."

Then the little boy in white stepped forward, snapping his fingers as an orb of smoky light materialized in the aether, crashing into the ground with a swirl of flame to reveal an Edge Punisher in white leather armor, one that looked suspiciously like Dr. Akagi, but with a strange sort of sensual grace that reminded others of Eris in her uncorrupted form. This was Casper of the Obsidian Knights, one of the "Eyes of Helba" as another called them long ago.

"Based on the data we have been tracking, the corrupted Knight Melchior did not fall at Sif Berg, and is likely to be fighting alongside the Bringer of Strife," the heir to Net Slum voiced quietly. "As even the Dark Queen had trouble against her, Casper will fill out the third and last slot in your team to as to counter the rogue AIDA-AI."

Upon hearing that, the Obsidian Knight spoke for the first time in the Dark Evangel's memory.

"By the order of the Queen, and by my oaths as a Knight," Casper spoke with conviction, extending the hilt of her sword to the Adept Rogue. "I will swear this, Slayer of Angels: that I shall serve as your sword and defeat the enemy before me. No matter what, you will not fall by Melchior's hand."

"I gladly accept your aid in the battle to come," murmured Skari, touching the weapon and handing it back to the Edge Punisher in an ancient ritual of fealty. "And now we are three…the Shadow, the Void, and the keeper of knowledge."

"Indeed you are," acknowledged the Queen of the Dark, as she and her heir melted away into the ever present crowds of Lumina Cloth.

Given the upcoming match would decide not who would move on in the tournament but who would claim the coveted throne of Emperor, the streets were more packed than ever before, as newbies, Chaotic PKs, PKKs and hackers streamed into the Warring City State for this much anticipated duel.

For in spite of any taunting or ignorant dismissals the mention of either might inspire in public, the Bringer of Strife and the Dark Evangel were indeed two of the most feared players in all The World, the unstoppable force and the immovable object respectively—and when the two finally clashed, the result promised to be a battle that would rock the very foundations of The World itself. Any number of bets and wagers had been placed on the outcome of this duel, with some rare hunters and gamblers staking their entire horde of virtual wealth upon it, depending on their faction they were aligned with.

"Come, let us go," Tomoyami sighed, scythe at the ready as the trio moved towards the Arena looming in the distance, the masses parting before with an awed hush. "It would be a shame to miss our match, wouldn't it?"

'_I'm coming for you Asuka…and soon you will know the true meaning of terror of death…'_

**

* * *

  
**

**Arena, Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

In the history of the three circuits of the Arena, there had only ever been one Emperor, a Blade Brandier by the name of Antares, who had swept through the ranks of the Demon Palace like the light of a star through the darkness of the void. His title match had been concluded only hours before, and now in this place where legends were born, the final match of the Holy Palace Tournament was about to take place, a second Emperor to be crowned.

History was in the making, as whatever happened here would be forever seared into the fabric of The World, echoing on from this place and time into eternity. Who would win the day? Whose sense of purpose and resolve would triumph? Which name would be spoken of in the months and years to come? That of the demonic Bringer of Strife, the feared Chaotic PK whose reign brought only terror and grief to The World? Or that of the Dark Evangel, the fallen warrior of light chasing an impossible dream of justice and mercy? The unstoppable force whose power had proved overwhelming in each encounter, or the immovable object upon which a thousand blades had been shattered?

Thus the more temperamental members of the audience had returned to the Arena, with newbies, dreamers, wanderers and those who only logged in occasionally sitting besides the rabblerousers and the diehard fanatics, as their champions vied for the hearts of The World. Even one of The World's old net poets was in the audience, holding tightly onto a dream of what this new world could be, one so fragile in this climate of rage that it could only be whispered lest it blow away.

In many ways this was not a fight between two players, as much as a fight between primal symbols and ideals, systems of belief. An individual player could be killed off or ignored, his or her concerns dismissed—but a symbol, a hero, could not. Somehow, through their words and deeds, Skari and Eris had come become more than just feared PKK or Chaotic PK, instead gaining the reputation of avatars of preservation and ruin, hope and despair. Now, both could be ruthless, but the case of one, it was to protect, and in the other, to destroy…and now these titans would clash in a battle only one could survive.

"The Alastor…the Dark Evangel who stands against the winds of plague," whispered one of those in the audience. "They say he fights for the sake of a girl, and for her he has turned himself into a weapon."

"He has never run away from even the fiercest of foes, letting their blades strike him as if his body was uncaring steel…only to use the opening his opponent makes in striking him to land a fatal blow," another murmured, citing the rumors she had heard.

"Yet the Bringer of Strife has slain the strongest of opponents in a single blow, instantly killing her enemies before they have a chance to strike," one of the skeptical ones (a Chaotic PK herself). "How will the Dark Evangel deal with that, I wonder, when the power of Eris is almost indescribable?"

"He'll find a way…I'll bet even the ultra rare Rainbow Scale accessory on it," spoke Natsume the Edgemaniac, who was watching from the stands beside a certain titan of gold.

"Heh…then I have something you'll find interesting," the other sneered. "These Dual Swords…the vaunted rare known as Spiral Edge."

"Spiral…Edge?" Natsume repeated slowly, her voice becoming deeper and quite a bit more menacing, causing the other PK to inch away.

"Yes…_if the Dark Evangel wins, _I will give them to you," the unknown Chaotic PK said quickly, before things could escalate into a full blown brawl.

"As you will then."

Then the Commentator rose to his feet and the crowds broke into a wild frenzy, cheering for the one they supported in this fight.

"Eris, the great Goddess of Discord! Skari, the dark Lightbringer!" his distinctive voice boomed out to the masses. "With their lightest of steps, the earth shakes and shocks resound throughout the Arena. Tonight we will find out the true weight of the word…Emperor! Chaotic PK or PKK - the all consuming fires of Chaos or the elusive shadow of Freedom? Who shall prevail and claim the Holy Palace throne?!"

At the sound of that word, there was absolute silence, as the buzzing of conversation, the sound of breathing, everything went still—save for the Commentator himself, as azure rings of light brought with them the first claimants for the throne…

"Here comes Team Dark Evangel!" he proclaimed, as the light faded to reveal an Adept Rogue, a Flick Reaper, and an Edge Punisher. "Having walked unto a field of blades, Skari stands tall, wearing a look of grim determination as he faces his greatest foe yet. Fighting by his side is a whole new lineup: the Unyielding Shadow, Tomoyami and the knight of shadow Casper! A Flick Reaper and an Edge Punisher…what an offensive lineup! Will Team Discord be nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter?"

Half of the audience leapt to their feet, cheering and jumping up and down, as from a dark corner of the observation deck, a black and silver clad Macabre Dancer only smirked, watching the proceedings with interest.

'_No matter which way this ends, this shall work to my advantage…'_

Once again, rings of azure light flared into existence, bringing to the center isle of battle three AIDA-PCs.

Eris' form was by now completely demonic, with her having given body and soul over to AIDA, eyes glowing with a sickly purple light, as from the rest of her erupted liquid shadow. Beside her stood Melchior, the fallen Knight in spiky black and grey plate armor shot through with veins of red, and a bulky bodybuilder of a man whose face was taut with pain even as shadow leaked from his form.

"What?!" Tomoyami whispered quietly, her scythe dropping as she looked upon the Tribal Grappler. "It…it can't be. That—that bitch...what did she do?!"

_'And how do you expect me to_—_'_

"You have to fight him, as you are the only one that can, for there are three AIDA-PCs here," Casper told the Flick Reaper quietly, her expression a mask of fortitude. "I will handle Melchior, as is my purpose for being here…for no human can match her alone. Eris will be focused on Skari, as he is her main target, and has been since the beginning—and this battle will end once she is defeated. Until then, you must hold off the corrupted Aruna, as even the Bearer of the Bracelet cannot take on several AIDA-PCs at once."

"But…but…" the Flick Reaper protested, though even as she did so, she realized the truth of the Obsidian Knight's words, and so snarled as she considered this latest crime of the redhead, the final straw. "Understood, I do what I must."

_'So this is what happened to those two…Asuka Langley Soryu…you will pay for this with your life!'_

Up came the scythe again, thirsty for the taste of a traitor's blood.

"And here comes their opponents, Team Discord!" the Commentator announced, taken aback on seeing them. "The figure of Eris gives off an unearthly vibe, and her teammates are pretty creepy themselves…the knight of darkness Melchior and…what's this, the Invincible Pervert Aruna! Could it be that Eris has somehow corrupted the Tribal Grappler with her dark magics?"

Stepping forward with an insane grin, the Bringer of Strife brandished her chainsaw broadsword, revving it up and licking her lips in anticipation of the blood to be spilled.

"HAHAHAHA…what will you do now, Dark Evangel?" the shadow demon taunted, having lost her last hold on reality. "How does it feel to lose everything, Angel?! To watch the world you so carefully built up crumble into nothing?!"

"Why?!" Skari roared, his bayonet Demon Slice in hand, a sphere of azure light already charged and ready to fire. "Why did you do this, Asuka Langley Soryu?!"

"Angel, you dare ask such a thing!" the Bringer of Strife screeched at the top of her lungs. "You betrayed everyone…you stole everything from me…and now…heheheh…now…you traitor to humanity…YOU'LLL DIE!!! _**Bone Crusher!**_"

"_**DUST BULLET!"**_

They loosed their skills and charged at one another, faster than the eye could see, the animosity and intent to kill hanging between them palpable even to those in the audience.

_Crack! Crack! Whoosh!_

The shots of Skari's bayonet struck true time and time again, but without effect, as the bolts of azure light were just absorbed into Eris' living shadow armor, not even slowing her charge.

"Is that the best you can do, weakling? You're nothing but a fraud! _**Shell Breaker**_!" the Edge Punisher howled, slashing down with all her might, a blow barely deflected in time by the Dark Evangel's bayonet.

_Clang!_

'_Her strength is overwhelming…but still…she can't beat me, not after all this!'_

"I…could…say the same of you!" the Adept Rogue bit back, tilting his gunblade to aim at the hand holding the broadsword, _**"Tempest Blast!"**_

The bolt of power struck Eris' unguarded hands at point blank range, blinding the Edge Punisher momentarily—as the Dark Evangel slashed her in the gut, following up with a kick to the face.

"AUUGHH! You…" she snarled, charging once more, her mind lost to rage.

_Clang! Clash!_

Meanwhile, Skari kept on opposing her…maybe he couldn't take the full force of her blows, but then, he didn't have to, instead using the power of her attacks to fuel his aerobatic maneuvers, leaping off the blade of her sword and landing behind her.

_Squelch! _Went the gunblade, as the Dark Evangel stabbed his enemy in the back, before flipping out of range of her counterstrike.

"Didn't I say don't take me lightly?" he taunted, as he launched himself once more into the air, unleashing a volley of azure light to provoke Eris into giving chase.

'_If I can just protect break her…'_

Back on the ground, however, things were not going so smoothly…

Two AIs clashed in a show of fearful symmetry, sparks flying as two knights warred for dominance in an almost purely physical struggle that allowed no room for spells or bullets, throwing into the fray every bit of skill and strength they had.

"Why do you oppose me, Casper?" the fallen Melchior inquired, pale gold eyes curiously peering out from a face framed with white-blonde hair. "You know you cannot beat me…as a scientist, you know that resistance is futile."

Dark Melchior lunged forward, swinging her gunblade _once-twice-thrice-and a_ _fourth_ time in an attempt to decapitate and disarm her more emotional sister. But the bayonet was caught in the teeth of a broadsword, as the brown-haired Casper countered with an armored fist to Melchior's face.

_Pow!_

"As I did not defeat you when Iruel infected you?" the leather-clad Obsidian Knight answered with a smile, the chainsword in her hand _whirring _most satisfyingly as she brought it down upon her counterpart's shoulder with every ounce of strength she had, to the tune a very satisfying c_runch!_

But the fallen Knight soon recovered, the shadows wrapping around her as she relentlessly struck at Obsidian Knight, with blade, with feet, with armored hands, and yet found herself warded off by her uninfected "sister."

"So your will as a woman is strong, clinging to irrational pride and hope of victory even now?" Melchior sneered. "That is why you killed yourself after killing the First Rei!"

The fallen one attacked with her lances of shadow, pouring the weight of contempt, anger, resentment into them to fuel her strikes, attacks without elegance that come smashing down remorselessly, executed only with brute strength. Elegance was the quality of a human…power of the scientist.

"There is no hope for you, Casper," the AIDA-infested Steam Gunner snarled, launching volley upon volley of shafts towards her hated foe…hated because it reminded her too much of herself! "At least, no hope of victory."

But the Obsidian Knight does not take the attacks idly, or maintain range, counterattacking, her broadsword cleaving apart the AIDA lances in midair as she spun about, whirling, slashing striking…there is no possibility of retreat.

"You are correct, Melchior…there is no hope…only certainty!" the Edge Punisher whispered as she struck, weapons crashing together in thrust, parry, riposte, remise, as Casper's defense endured, aided by the most powerful protections the Queen of the Dark could weave.

'_I do hope that Tomoyami has found it in herself to fight…' _

"Auughh! _**Palm Blast!**_" shrieked the possessed Aruna, face contorted with pain and regret as his character moved relentlessly forward, his fists slamming into—not the soft cloth and flesh of his intended target, but the razor sharp blade of her scythe.

_'Even possessed by a power giving him great strength, he still doesn't think before he acts...'_

Before the Tribal Grappler could react, an angry Tomoyami exploited the momentary opening to deliver a vicious kick to the groin, following up with an uppercut to the head when he staggered, a blow so powerful, it actually lifted the AIDA-PC into the air.

"When I told you be strong, this is _**not**_ what I had in mind!" the Flick Reaper howled, her dress spinning out around her as she sprung forward, her scythe weaving through the air in complex patterns that promised the kiss of pain. "Stop this at once, Aruna! Or I'll have to teach you a lesson you'll never forget! _**Heavenly Wheel!**_"

_Clunk! _With an inhuman growl, the feral Tribal Grappler raised his arm, catching the scythe with contemptuous ease using one of his spiked gauntlets, while swinging himself towards her, his other fist wreathed in shadow.

"_**Shell Shock!"**_

The raw power in that blow sent the Unyielding Shadow sprawling to the floor, skidding across the Arena floor one way with her scythe spinning in the other.

'_His stats…they're absurd! Is this AIDA's influence?!'_

But there was really no time to think, as an AIDA infected Tribal Grappler was something else indeed, with the power of the virus bolstering their already high speed and attack strength…so Tomoyami simply withdrew another scythe from her inventory and exploded to her feet, invoking the most powerful of the combat arts she was granted.

"_**Reaper's Dance!" **_

It was an interesting irony that the ultimate attack in this case, proved instead to be an ultimate defense, as the unpredictably spinning weapon, twirled and struck, forcing Aruna to go on the defensive—if only for an instant, as the Tribal Grappler launched himself into the air, twisting his body to attack from above.

"_**King Hammer!" **_

If it struck, the Flick Reaper would have been knocked out, but…she had been anticipating a move like this, summoning a silent _**"Vak Don" **_and _**"Ani Zot"**_ as she shoved herself away from the landing zone, leaving the hapless Aruna to be smote from the air with a flaming meteor, sending him right into the claws of darkness below, searing, tearing, rending his flesh without Aruna being able to retaliate.

'_Though I will be the first to admit that there is something…ironic…about using shadow and flame to oppose an AIDA-PC, which essentially what those two bring.'_

_**"Heavenly Wheel!"**  
_

"AUUGHHHH!" the berserk Aruna roared in pain, shadowed hands unsealing themselves from within, hurling themselves at the pigtailed girl who had dared to strike at him—only to be blocked by a determined Flick Reaper calling upon the power of darkness, the whirls and arcs of her scythe's path forming a shield of danger that kept the opponent back, slashing away the tendrils as they streamed towards her.

"_**Zan Rom!" **_she called out, summoning a tornado, a tempest that seized hold of Aruna's body and ensnared it, giving Tomoyami a moment's reprieve.

'_Maybe I can beat him…maybe I can't…but at the very least, I will not lose!'_

The battle raged on…

_Swish! Crunch! Whirrr!_

"_**Armor Break!" **_Eris howled, rushing like the wind to close the distance between herself and the irritating pest Skari. The angrier she became, the more AIDA gained control of her, but what of it? She knew that she had to beat the Angel here, for wasn't that her purpose as an EVA pilot, to slay the Angels? "You can't win, Third Child! Give it up! Or your precious Tomoyami will suffer the same fate as your other 'friends…' Wouldn't she look good lying on a hospital bed, a doll for you to play with and molest, you baka hentai?!"

Down came the broadsword, a killing blow to shatter the Adept Rogue's skull—

"Weapon Change! _**Ghost Falcon**_!"

—but Skari matched her blow for blow, leaping left, right, left, whirling his blades about in a spiral of death, countering the deadly edge of the AIDA enhanced broadsword, sparks flying as each warred momentarily for dominion—until the Adept Rogue flipped away.

"Don't you dare threaten anyone else! You…you will pay for this! _**BEAST AWAKENING!"**_ he howled, as an aura of fiery light arose to enshroud all three members of his party, increasing their speed and attack power. _'If you're using the power of AIDA to help you…I'll just have to counter this any way I can…'_

As an added bonus, during an awakening, he could strip his opponents of any equipment effects that might allow them to defend against the onslaught to come…

"_**Chaotic Strike**_!" he shouted, unleashing one of his most powerful combat arts against his foe, blades blurring as they sliced into her armor, as the nimble Adept Rogue snarled, sliding inside her reach and using all the speed and agility to use _**"Whirlwind!"**_ and _**"Gale Blade!"**_

In the distance, Casper surged with a new influx of power as the Awakening bolstered her abilities, allowing her to match her dark twin in both speed and strength. With a fierce battle cry she hacked away the last of the shadow spears separating her from the traitor Melchior.

_Swish! Crunch! Clang! Thwack!_

But the Steam Gunner simply dodged out of the way, with no trace of fatigue or strain upon her face, only a dull sense of boredom. For the fallen Knight, this battle was just entertainment until she would at last be allowed to hunt her creator again—a match against a counterpart that had never truly been her equal, and would never have a chance to be.

"Is that all you've got, Casper?" taunted the rogue AI, summoning a weapon made of AIDA to counter her opponent's single weapon. It was a useful thing to be able to surpass the limits of the system, as no being stuck within it could defeat her. "Try matching this!"

The dark figure moved, closes in on the white-clad Obsidian Knight in an instant, thrusting her AIDA-infused gunblade and her AIDA weapon, only for Casper to block with a series of chops and flourishes.

"Your so-called blessing of AIDA is not much to speak of," Casper returned with a smile as she stuck, sweeping with her leg to throw the fallen one off balance, and simultaneously with her blade to cleave her foe in twain. "_**Twin Moons!"**_

But Melchior blocked the intended finishing blow is blocked with only her gunblade, pouring the power of numerous spears of darkness into her off-hand weapon and lunging forward, smashing through the layers of armor with sheer brute strength.

Contemptuously, the fallen knight stood above the one named Casper, blades held to her neck and chest as she smiled lustily.

"This is it, my sister," Melchor crowed in triumph, savoring the moment. "Do you finally understand that nothing you can do will be enough to defeat me? I who have your strength and the blessing of AIDA? As a scientist, I must say that your attempt to stall me was but an absurdity in the making. How like Naoko as a woman, to impulsively act without reason."

"_**Tiger Bite!"**_

Flick Reaper Tomoyami ducked low to avoid a fist aimed at her temple, but it had only been a feint, as her opponent anticipated this, striking towards her gut instead—which she countered by swinging the butt of her weapon upwards, bringing it into position for her to strike back.

"_**Lotus Flower!"**_ she screamed, her Scythe whistling as it sliced the air—and continued on to rake the Tribal Grappler across the chest, the battle aura of Awakening granting her new strength.

Hissing, the AIDA-PC Aruna drew back, watching the gleaming blade of the scythe cautiously as it wavered back and forth. He swayed on his feet, following the motion—then exploded forward in a burst of rage inspired speed, shadow clutched within his palms again to melt the absurdly high resistance of the girl who had hurt him.

"I won't let you win!" the pigtailed girl whispered in a deathlike tone. "Do you really think you can beat me, a Chaotic PK?"

Gauntleted fists against Scythe they fought, their individual movements a blurring together as the battle raged onwards, their feet barely touching the floor as they flew at each other again and again, a complex dance of evasions, parries, blocks, and thrusts, empty rage against chilling logic hurling themselves against one another's attacks.

"_**King Hammer!"**_

Enhanced with the power of shadow, the AIDA-infected Aruna's fists shot forward in an attempt to score a knockout blow and finish his foe…or at least infect his opponent.

"_**Rue Kruz!"**_

But with the last wisps of power from the Beast Awakening, Tomoyami evaded, her deadly scythe screaming towards the Tribal Grappler as orbs of water sprung full formed from the aether, smashing one after another onto corrupted Aruna's form. He howled with pain and senseless rage, yet still stood his ground, grunting as the scythe impact flung him away.

'_Like this, he's nothing more than an AIDA Monster—there's nothing of the real Aruna here…the only way to save him, is to stop him. And that AIDA…the way he's using it, its like some kind of curse, an oil that spills and spreads, and taints the ground—reacting only to swallow human minds and human bodies.'_

"_**Tiger Blitz!" **_Eris invoked, once the Awakening had passed, raining a number of heavy blows down upon the impudent Adept Rogue, her chainsaw sword snarling out a grinding hiss in the amidst the clashes in the Arena as she struck with finality…with him miraculously managing to block the blow, and thinking quickly, used the momentum of the charge to spin the irate Edge Punisher around, bringing his other weapon across her gut so that she reeled back.

"You must know it by now," she taunted as she countered, returning to guard position, "You can't win! It's pointless to keep fighting. So, why, Dark Evangel? Why do you persist in the face of your doom?"

"Why?" the Adept Rogue asked sardonically, dual swords at the ready. "Because I choose to."

_Slash, slash, clank, slash! _

And once again, Skari demonstrated how he had grown since their first encounter, with blades blurring as he struck again and again, managing to use his superior speed and agility to get inside his opponent's reach and land a few blows—to no avail, as the Bringer of Strife simply threw back her head and laughed off the attack.

"You heartless bitch! I'll kill you...Asuka Langley Soryu!" Skari roared with fury, twin blades flashing up down left right, slashing, whirring, stabbing—all deflected with contemptuous ease as Eris kicked him viciously in the gut, smashing him in the head with the pommel of her sword, sending him sprawling.

With one sweeping feint then strike, she managed to break through his defenses, delivering a powerful blow that knocked him to the floor…and then she put away her weapon, intending to finish this match once and for all when—

"_**DATA DRAIN!"**_

The terrible light of The World's most powerful skill flared into existence as Skari lifted his hand, dropping her to her knees with the force of a thousand hooks digging into her very soul, the Bringer of Strife enduring terrible pain in both worlds as the divine magic leeched her strength away.

Of course, there was a minor complication in that had not been protect broken, and thus…though wounded…the AIDA possessing her had not been destroyed, only enraged.

"_YOU…VERDAMMEN BAKA HENTAI__!** Divine Awakening: Hellfire Quake!"**_ the Edge Punisher bellowed at the top of her lungs, as in her hands gathered a chaotic orb of dark fire, a swirling mass of untamed shadow and flame forged into a sword.

She laughed maniacally, hefting the greatsword, lifting it high above her head, then slashed it forward and down, unleashing a wave motion flamethrower that incinerated the surface of the battle isle, leaving it all in smoke, covering it all in smoke.

"Yes, it looks you've finally…no…no…_THIS CANNOT BE!" _the Bringer of Strife screeched, eyes widening in disbelief…for the blinding light of that attack had faded, and the Dark Evangel still stood…

'_No…it won't end like this…not while I still breathe…'_

Elsewhere on the field, Casper groaned as the flames of the Hellfire Quake washed over her, searing away all that remained of her armor, with Melchior gloating above her, gunblade raised to end the Obsidian Knight's wretched existence.

"You should have learned by now that can't defeat me while we are here in this domain," the fallen knight smirked. "And since you've suffered so much damage, you won't be able to regenerate, so I'll end this. You should thank me, sister. Consider it an act of mercy that I am willing to cut short your worthless existence."

Melchior's weapon stabbed down a final time, piercing Casper's heart—as the servant of Helba only smiled.

"It is finished," Casper acknowledged, clutching the AIDA-infused blade, while looking at the AIDA-PC and fallen knight beside her.

"What is? Your futile existence as an Eye of Helba?" Naoko Akagi as scientist inquired, always interested in facts.

"No. AIDA Data encryption has been nullified. Direct link has been established to rogue AI Melchior," the Edge Punisher recited tonelessly. "Activation of special rule 582 confirmed, overriding cancellation by two AIs. Reformatting of system folders on Melchior and Casper commencing, including erasure of backups involving system processes 'Obsidian Knights' and linked programs."

From the stands, Balthasar, the representation of Naoko Akagi as mother, watched this spectacle unfold.

"Confirmed. MAGI Balthasar executing requested actions now."

"Impossible…I have the blessing of AIDA," Melchior voiced in horror, a futile attempt to deny reality, for even as she spoke, code fragments evaporated from her cybernetic shell, her form being eaten away from both without and within, along with the AIDA infesting her.

"Indeed," responded Casper, with a last twinkle of laughter in her eyes, as the same process was occurring to her. "That is why I was forced to engage you and use my body as a vector for the reset program. The encryption was otherwise too much to breech."

"You…then…this was your plan all along?!" the fallen knight questioned as her body faded away. "Replacing your combat data with a infiltration and dissolution factor? That would explain why you seemed so weak…how can you die so easily?"

"Ah, Melchior...it is the way of things. Everything that has a beginning has an end, and I see the end coming. I see…death, and it is peace," Casper paused as she searched for a few last words. "Goodbye, sister…it has been…fun."

A moment later, both AIs vanished from the field, having found "The End" at last.

"ENOUGH OF YOUR TRICKS, SKARI! DIE ANGEL!" shrieked the Bringer of Strife, giving in to the power of darkness completely. With the might of rage and fear fueling the true power of AIDA, a wave of endless shadow shot forth from her, innumerable clawed hands lancing with deadly precision towards the being she most hated, the one who had stolen everything from her: Adept Rogue Skari.

The Dark Evangel leapt back, flipping away, dodging, slashing—but it was to no avail, as however many of the dark claws he hacked away, ten came to take their place, _clanging_ into the ground around him, and trapping him in a cage.

Against their bounds he struggled, but they would not budge…leaving the blue-haired youth open to the final spear of AIDA that issued from Eris' hands—and pierced him through the gullet, as shadows swept over the entire isle of battle.

"This is it…you lose," Eris sang with a maniacal grin, waiting for the music to signal the end of the match. After all, to win in the Arena, one only really needed to defeat the enemy party leader…

'_Even if he is an Angel, there's no way he can_ _withstand the power of Al Fadel…_'

Shadow lashed out and consumed the Adept Rogue, but he resisted, unwilling to surrender. And as the darkness encroached upon him, Skari heard a voice speak from inside his mind: his voice.

'_Shinji…do you remember the choice you made? When you claimed the seed and the book? Come…let the darkness take you, and with your feelings, let slip the binds of reason and claim the power you seek!'_

From his mouth issued a roar of defiance, as a column of fire shot from his body into the sky above the Arena, molten power ripping through the shadows of Eris' AIDA as if they were nothing but tissue paper, freeing him almost effortlessly, as he faced down the Bringer of Strife, his form _changed, _as the Second Child learned the meaning of fear.

'_No…what in The World? This…this isn't…this isn't possible…its like that EVA…'_

Sanity was nearly gone from Skari's eyes now, and the figure that crouched before her now was a snarling beast, pupil-less eyes wide and glowing red, body seemingly forged of fire and steel, a clawed, winged form of unholy terror, a literal Dark Evangel, inspiring in even a Chaotic PK the terror of death.

From her vantage point in the audience, Morganna raised an eyebrow, a softly musical laugh issuing from her lips.

"So… B-ST form…a Job Extend that defies the system parameters," the goddess of dusk noted. "A shift drawing on the power of the divine and the shadow…how appropriate for the Dark Evangel, for he who fights monsters inevitably becomes one."

With a keening wail that shook the Bringer of Strife to her core, the Dark Evangel stormed toward her location, leaping high into the air, and striking at her with only his claws. But the Chaotic PK was not about to give in, as _Clang! _went her broadsword swung with AIDA infused strength, batting him away from her.

But Skari's bestial form took no damage, simply using the momentum to land gracefully upon his feet, as he sprung at her again, this time requiring the efforts of the AIDA lances to knock him away, with Adept Rogue's B-ST form still taking no damage, only becoming more enraged.

'_What is his body made of…swords?!'_

"_**VAK DON!"**_ Eris howled, calling down meteors of fire from the sky to strike her enemy—who upon being struck, flared with light, and blinked out of existence.

'_Eh…where did he? GUHHHH!'_

A blur slammed into the unprepared AIDA-PC from behind, sending her skidding across the Arena floor, as the fallen angel grinned.

"I'm not done yet!" the Edge Punisher screeched, rising to her feet and drawing her weapon Heine's Shadow…only to freeze in shock at the sight before her eyes.

Reaching behind him with a yowl of some indefinable emotion and a burst of light, the fallen angel drew into his hands two broadswords: Heine's Shadow. That alone would have shocked her, as Skari wasn't an Edge Punisher, and anyway it was impossible to dual wield broadswords. But what was worse was the behemoth rift of static that opened as he did so, from which were spawned a thousand blades floating in the air.

'_Oh…_ _SHEIßE…'_

With a blur of motion, the Dark Evangel slammed both broadswords forward, and all the weapons within that gate of twilight shot forth in a continuous stream of blades, snaking through the air and slamming into the Bringer of Strife one after another, the sudden onslaught ripping her body to shreds with the Edge Punisher helpless to defend—for no normal player, no mere AIDA-PC could hope to defeat such an attack.

One after another they surged forward, impaling her body, lacerating, puncturing, carving deep furrows into her limbs, her gut, her chest, with one particularly large sword nearly severing her head from her body.

_'What is this unlimited blade...AUUUGHHHH!'_

A screech of agony, a burst of static, and her body melted into a lake of shadow, exploding outwards to change the battlefield into an expansive sea bounded by innumerable hexagons: Avatar Space.

In the place of Eris was now an amorphous mass, a seething bubbling gathering of gelatinous ectoplasm oozing and shifting itself into its final form: a giant transparent spider.

_Artificially Intelligent Data Anomaly Oswald:_ The Entrapper.

But if the AIDA thought that revealing its true form would be enough to intimidate the Dark Evangel, it would not prove so, for a series of strange glyphs took shape around his body, as a guttural voice arose from the throat of the beast, a glimmer of sanity reemerging from the depths of madness.

"To break…the chains of fate…I am…right here!! Shadow!" Skari screamed, as light flared from his character

With an anguished moan, Skari was now floating in the expanse, enshrouded within the titanic form of an angel of light.

_Artificially Intelligent Data Anomaly Victorian: _The Conqueror.

"This is the end for you, Asuka Langley Soryu!" he intoned, facing down the great spider before him. "I'm coming for you!_**"**_

Lost to unstoppable rage, _AIDA Oswald_ could not reply, save with a spray of _**"Kobold Bullets" **_as it hurled a gaggle of energy orbs towards its angelic foe.

But the angel of light dodged with the nimbleness one might expect from a celestial messenger, executing a _**"Royal Tackle" **_as it hurled itself bodily at the _AIDA Oswald, _crashing into it and smashing it backwards and forwards with its wings, as the spider careened away, spinning headlong towards the wall of the bounded space, pitching, yawing, tumbling uncontrollably until it was finally halted by a mighty crash, the shock of an unexpected inducing an unwanted paralysis.

Seeing a chance to add insult to injury, _AIDA Victorian_ closed the distance before the wounded _Oswald _could recover, loosing an _**Excellent Ray**_ attack, shooting dark bolts of energy from its maw as it charged, only pulling away enough to whip its wings, producing and unleashing an immense atom-like sphere of coruscating energy, the aptly named "_**Elegant Orb". **_

_Oswald _had just started to move again when the _**"Elegant Orb"**_ made contact, slamming it deeper into Avatar Space. Not in the mood for much more abuse, _AIDA Oswald_ took evasive action, dashing through the space hither and thither as _Victorian_ chased after, its powerful forelegs pinwheeling to pull away from its opponent, no, to spin around and unleash _**"Arachno Trap"**_, streams of silk issuing from its body to ensnare the winged annoyance within a woven cage.

Quickly, while its enemy was paralyzed, the oversized arachnid fired off a _**"Kobold Bullet"**_ before slamming its foe with two overhead blows from its forelegs. In a matter of seconds, _Victorian_ had freed itself, but by then, it was too late to counter the delayed effect of the homing orbs, all of which slammed into it.

Within Victorian's form, Skari grunted as the energy bullets made contact, making to answer with a overwhelming large volley of "_**Royal Bullets**_", homing in on the spider AIDA as it futilely attempted to block with webbing—and striking.

A tinkling sound was heard, as a shell of blue light shattered around the hideous monstrosity, with three words flashing above its head.

"_Protect Break OK!"_

The spider drifted through the space in an entirely predictable trajectory, turning to flee as the AIDA angel chasing it gave chase, with Skari lifting his hands to prepare his strongest attack, the sepals of the fully formed Twilight Bracelet unfolding before _Victorian, _hexagons of data clustering on its wings to surround the great Eye of Morganna made manifest.

"_**DRAIN HEART!"**_

The bolt of crackling data, the tracer round for the ultimate form of "Data Drain" launched outwards, impacting the spider AIDA and parasitically sucking away its vitality, ripping apart the very information that gave the creature shape as it howled and shook futilely, innumerable streams of data torn and shredded from its form, with the great orb of Data Drain growing smaller, smaller, smaller, and vanishing as Oswald screamed its last, leaving behind only the mangled form of Eris.

The Dark Evangel dismissed _AIDA_ _Victorian_ as Avatar Space dissolved.

There he stood upon the isle of battle, returned to his more normal form by the unsealing of the power within. Slowly, as Tomoyami and Aruna continued to duel in the distance, he strode towards the fallen form of Eris, tossing one of his dual swords at her before she could get up.

With a tinkling sound, Eris herself was protect broken, fully vulnerable to the effects of Data Drain.

'_My other self said it best, Asuka…the only way to save you…is to destroy you.'_

One last time, Skari raised his right hand, and three crimson petals formed from hexagons flickering into existence as a terrible light charged within the bracelet he bore. With a cry, it lanced through the Arena, utterly destroying Eris' form, dissolved like fog in the morning light.

Sounds of battle raged on for a few moments longer, then ended, as the Tribal Grappler Aruna leapt away from Tomoyami, halting his attack and warping out…just as the Arena's observation systems recognized the defeat of the leader of Team Discord, and the rock anthem of victory blared.

Hearing this, the crowds roared, struggling to see exactly what had happened, as they had not seen the duel continue into Avatar Space, though they marveled at the skills shown here. The Commentator, slightly confused himself, took a few moments to gather his thoughts before voicing his own remarks.

"Un-Unbelievable!!" he hollered to the crowds, confidently as ever. "I don't have the faintest idea what's happened, but anyway…the winner is Team Dark Evangel! Skari has become the first to take the throne of the Holy Palace…we are witnesses to history! The great Goddess of Discord has at last met her end at the hands of the dark Lightbringer!"

The reaction to this news was mixed, with about half the crowd now celebrating, and half extremely embittered, handing over what they had lost in bets and promises. Not included in either group was a certain black and silver clad Macabre Dancer, who smirked as his new servant drew near.

"Well done, Aruna."

In the center of the Arena, Skari and Tomoyami somehow found the energy to wave to the crowds, though after that fierce battle, they were leaning against one another for support.

"Are you ok, Tomoyami?" the Adept Rogue asked, the last of his berserker energy threatening to leave him

"Yeah…thanks to you finishing the match when you did," the Flick Reaper replied, voice almost non-existent. "I don't know how much longer I could have held off the infected Aruna."

The two looked at each other and shook their heads, simply glad the other had survived. Speaking of which...

"What happened to Casper?" Skari asked, curious as to where the Knight could have disappeared to.

"I don't know," answered Tomoyami with a sigh. "But something tells me this was only the beginning of a larger whole...lets just hope we managed to save the Lost Ones."

_'Eris is beaten, but Aruna has been taken in exchange...'_

* * *

**Tokyo-3**

Down in the Geofront, the door to a certain apartment was kicked open with a _bang, _asNERVSection 2 and Special Investigations personnel burst into the Second Child's apartment, weapons drawn. The Commander had mobilized them immediately upon finishing his review of the report and warrant of arrest from the World Network Council, muttering something about the child outliving her usefulness, and had categorized her as a threat to be presumed armed and dangerous—and likely to flee at first opportunity available.

So they had moved, gathering the nearest squads of individuals and forcibly entering her room…only to discover the Second Child was already…incapacitated. She was laying on the floor unconscious, as if she'd fallen from her chair, her M2D headset for playing The World still on her head—and worse, she wasn't breathing. It was something of an irony in that the squad sent to arrest her for crimes that would likely lead to the death sentence had needed to perform CPR on her and inform NERV Medical of an emergency, effectively saving her life, although she remained in an unwaking coma.

After medical personnel had taken charge of her, Ryoji Kaji had headed to the Second Child's room once again, in order to attempt to determine the cause of this collapse, with the only thing worth noting a computer, with the contents of the screen a major cause for concern.

An instance of The World: R2 was open but blacked out, with the words 'SYSTEM ERROR' in bold white across the screen.

'_And now both the First **and** Second Children_ _number among the Lost…'_


	47. Interlude: Das Wandern

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Das Wandern  
**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Overture **

He stood alone in an open gazebo outside the grand citadel of Hy Brasail, the great Isle of Kings, blue hair and silver robes rustling in the wind as he looked out across the moonlit sea, drinking in the sight of the twinkling lights of the Eternal City. His eyes were clouded with thought and fatigue, as the events of the turbulent day finally took their toll, and at the last he sighed, pondering what had transpired.

'_I fought a desperate battle in the Arena, not for the adulation of the crowd, or for praise, but because it was something I had to do. I won, but what did I really achieve, and at what cost? This victory seems all too…hollow.'_

Earlier in the evening, after the fierce title match against the AIDA-PC Eris, he had been crowned Emperor of the Holy Palace, hailed as a legend who surpassed ordinary men and understood the meaning of power, a hero who had vanquished the great avatar of discord and fear. Skari didn't especially feel like a hero, as in his heart he knew that this small spot of hope was but the beginning of a much wider conflict.

'_Pawns in a game of chess, under the command of the white-clad Queen of the Dark,' _he mused, clutching his right forearm, where the Bracelet sat invisible. _'Though at least I have my own mind, and I was not as lost in my hate as Asuka, as I know full well what that can lead to in the end, as the AIDA have shown me.' _

In the end, he had only won because Eris' AIDA storm triggered something within him, causing him to shift into the berserker B-ST form, a job extend that defied the parameters of the system, surpassing even the power of a fully unsealed AIDA-PC.

'_If not for that…I might well have become a Lost One…yet I press on, no matter what the cost will be, because the only thing I can do is keep on moving forward, one foot on the path of light, the other in the deepest black, as I walk the path of the twilight spiral. Onward I must go, despite the risk, despite the danger, if only for the sake of everyone else, for I am void.'_

Maybe that was why the Adept Rogue had exiled himself to this place, while others talked and celebrated in the distance, so as to gather his thoughts, steeling himself for what was to come.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop!_ Came the sound of quiet footsteps from behind him, as the azure-haired Skari turned about in curiosity—coming face to face with a tall steam gunner dressed in mostly in blue and white, with traces of leather scattered through his outfit, a long, flowing scarf, orange sunglasses—and a huge metal cylinder around his left arm.

"Should the star of the party be in a place like this?" the enigmatic one spoke, as he approached the new Emperor.

"You…" Skari whispered, eyes flashing with suspicion as the Bearer of the Bracelet recalled the last time he had seen the other. "What are you up to in this place?"

'_More importantly, why is an AIDA-PC giving help to someone fighting AIDA?'_

But Ovan merely chuckled, moonlight glinting off his orange sunglasses as he looked over the boy, then walked past him to glace out over the sea.

"My name is of no consequence, and is it not right to congratulate to the Emperor of the Holy Palace, Dark Evangel?" the man said gently, "As I am the one who saved your life, I simply wished to see what you had done, while living on borrowed time."

Skari frowned slightly, the winds picking up with a slight chill around him as he did so.

"…what do you mean borrowed time?"

"Oh? Could it be that you do not know?" the other asked distantly, still facing away even as his words drew in the Adept Rogue. "That you live on despite your wounds, despite the darkness inside your heart—that life is a gift of the twilight goddess."

"A…gift? You mean the…"

"The bracelet, the same power as is borne by…the pursuers," the Steam Gunner commented, smirking slightly. "Some have said it to be one of the many forms of the great Key of the Twilight."

"_Key of the Twilight…well,_ _Reimeiki-chan did call it the Twilight Bracelet…but…'_

"…what exactly is the Key of the Twilight?"

Skari heard a simple '_hmm_' from the other, and raised an eyebrow, critically regarding the strange man's back. In stature, the white-robed steam gunner seemed very composed, almost gentle, but there was a strange air about him, very much like his father had been.

"Why, it is said to be the greatest treasure in the world," Ovan responded in measured tones, looking over his shoulder to meet the boy's gaze. "A mythical item said to be an all powerful key that could grant the possessor any wish…as it has granted to wish of the goddess to protect you from the AIDA lurking within you."

'_AIDA…does he mean…'_

The Adept Rogue froze, eyes narrowing as he thought back to the end of the match, when he had summoned…

"Yes, I see you understand…your avatar, the angel of light you summoned to defeat Eris, was an AIDA itself," Ovan continued, a strange smile playing on his lips. "_AIDA Victorian,_ to be precise, the one referred to as Conqueror. A great irony, is it not, that the avatar of the Slayer of Angels is itself a divine messenger?"

'_Wait what? I'm an AIDA-PC? But that would mean…'_

"…if I'm an AIDA-PC, why haven't I been corrupted by it, like Eris?" the Dark Evangel countered, a reasonable question to ask in times such as this. "For that matter, why haven't you, since you have AIDA hidden within your arm?"

'_That's right, he's an AIDA-PC, so why is he telling me this? More than that…why is he helping me? The other AIDA-PC's I know of were either homicidal or wracked with pain…could it be that the cylinder is…?'_

The Adept Rogue directed a meaningful glance at the locked metal cylinder upon Ovan's arm, the one he had seen crash to the ground at **Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel** when the Steam Gunner had appeared, releasing from confinement an immense blade of liquid darkness that had ripped apart the AIDA-Monster that had threatened his life.

"It is because I am like you," the Epitaph User replied cryptically, turning from the harbor view to face the Dark Evangel. "You see, I, too possess the blessing of the Twilight Goddess, in the form of a portion of the Will of Morganna."

'_The will of…Morganna? What does she have to do with…?'_

"Morganna…?" Skari breathed softly, the name coming out with an almost reverent hush. "As in the Shadow Warlock? What does Morganna have to do with this?"

Behind the nearly opaque lenses of orange sunglasses, the eyes of Ovan revealed nothing, as the strange man stood there silently, like a sentinel watching for a coming storm on the horizon.

"Yes, I suppose that is indeed the guise the goddess of dusk wears in this new world," the Steam Gunner acknowledged neutrally, betraying no sign of what he felt. "In the old, she was the mistress of eight powerful avatars with whose will she brought The World to twilight, and then again to dawn, when Aura took her place. You who know of the Epitaph may be familiar with their names…I, for example, am the wielder of Avatar Corbenik, the Epitaph User called 'The Rebirth.'"

"_Corbenik_?" the Adept Rogue hissed, startled into a guard position. That was indeed a name he had heard of in the past, only in association with the… "…the last Phase of the Cursed Wave? The Blessed Body that arrives from deep with the void?"

"The very same, for you see, each of the eight Phases formed a fragment of the divine will of Morganna, the very power which holds sway over the network," the Steam Gunner explained, voice a melodic lull that sought to set its listener at ease, his expression revealing nothing. "This is the truth that was discovered by the dothackers of five years ago, when her power broke before the dawn, at the birth of the Goddess that watches this World. And it is by that blessing that I control AIDA, forming the barrier about my arm to seal my mind from it, much as you have been blessed by a Child of Twilight. For the AIDA within you is a very highly evolved form of the intelligence that would have taken over the mind of anyone without the protection of the goddess, and yet, you have bound it…living on borrowed time."

'_Eight Phases…the will of Morganna…dusk and dawn and twilight, as Reimeiki-chan said…but—'_

Shaking his head, the Dark Evangel closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling to empty his head of thoughts, then opened his eyes again.

"What is your true purpose for coming here?" he asked, taking a step towards the Epitaph User, as he suspected that the man had not come only to chat. "Is there something you wanted?"

The Steam Gunner looked appraisingly at the Dark Evangel and nodded, as if in approval, before producing an item from his inventory, an oddly shaped bayonet that was not like any other he had ever seen before. Wreathed in azure flame, it was a strangely built gun blade inscribed with flowing silver lines that wavered as he looked at it.

"Simply to congratulate you...Emperor," Ovan replied, seemingly amused by the query. "And since we are alike, seeking to bring back the Lost, to present you with this…I am afraid it is not the Key of Twilight, but it in its own way is blessed, imbued with the dream of dusk and dawn. Take it, Dark Evangel, and may you find the path you seek in what time you have remaining before your coming reincarnation."

Handing over the item, the mysterious man vanished, leaving Skari to wonder at what he had been bequeathed.

'_Saying such things, giving me a bayonet unlike others in The World, claiming to be the wielder of Corbenik…who was he?'_

**

* * *

**

**Aria**

In the antechamber of the grand citadel of the Isle of Kings, two queens held court, speaking formally with one another as they looked out upon the world they so dearly loved, the world they had watched over for many years, each in their own way. Hacker and fallen Goddess, Queen of the Dark and Cursed Wave, for now the two worked together as one to deal with the current threat to The World, though assuredly each still had their secrets.

"So, Eris has been defeated, and the corrupted Melchior eliminated," spoke the Phantom Queen, the dark robes and silver infinity brooch she wore marking her as the Shadow Warlock known as Morganna. "It would seem that this phase of the operation has been a success."

The other, a mysterious dark-haired swordswoman in red robes, nodded, in essence agreeing, though with some reservations.

"Yes, although with the creation of AIDA-PC Aruna, Siarl had already prepared for this scenario, with either outcome likely acceptable to him," voiced the Mistress of Net Slums, the current organizer of the new dothackers. "Either way, a Child falls, and as Eris would have been soon been eliminated anyway, with the World Network Council having discovered her deeds, this incident was an opportunity that could not be wasted."

"Indeed," the fallen Goddess mused aloud, looking at her counterpart. "With Eris having joined the ranks of the Lost Ones, she cannot betray any secrets Siarl may have revealed to her, meaning that his stratagems are still unknown."

'_Currently, he is a servant of both SEELE and AIDA, but then, it is not unheard of for a servant to betray a master, especially as he _was_ compatible with_ _Macha the Temptress, who seduces with the sweet trap. Thrice now, Macha has betrayed me, as its bearer may betray his masters…'_

"For now, we have continued to gather data, observing those movements which can be tracked, using the _Siarl-00 _item that Lycoris retrieved, among others," the hacker queen replied in turn. "He seems to spend most of his time in secret areas, particularly in the Outer Dungeons, where in-world surveillance does not work, rising from them only to accomplish certain tasks. In The World, both Eris and Melchior were his swords their defeat, and he seems to have replaced them with Aruna."

'_And I do not think either of the dothackers will be very happy at the prospect of having to fight against him—nor will the Marduk Institute, or rather, Commander Ikari, be very pleased, considering that they now lack a pilot for EVA-02. A Fifth Child will soon be selected…'_

"Let us hope that Aruna will be more subtle than Eris, at least, as it would be inconvenient were the World Network Council to take note of him as well," Morganna noted, a mild frown crossing her lips. "I would confront him and cleanse him of his infection, to rid Siarl of an ally, but then, Siarl would likely resort to finding another pawn, one we may not be aware of, or one of the irregular characters. That, and it would draw unwanted attention to the numerous coma cases in Tokyo-3, something which is rather…undesirable at the moment."

The Queen of the Dark merely inclined her head in reply.

"Indeed, which is why we must continue to mask the location of the fragments of the Child of Twilight, preventing Siarl from locating them," Kaede spoke quietly but firmly. "For although she never ascended to be reborn as Aura was, she is still of the Twilight, and is the forerunner to the Goddess…as you well know, Morganna."

She spoke knowingly, remembering all too well the days when a certain nearly omnipotent AI had gone mad with power and fear, lashing out at the world in an attempt to escape her fate, to be freed of the cycle of death and rebirth.

"Yes, that is the mission you have assigned to your remaining Knight, isn't it? As it was the mission of both Casper and Balthasar, before the former had to be sacrificed in order to eliminate the most powerful of Siarl's servants—the AIDA that nearly destroyed you?" the fallen goddess asked, knowing her old enemy very well. "That is very much like you, to work from the shadows even as the dothackers steal the attention of the enemy…is that not how you fought against me all those years ago?"

Kaede turned from her companion then, taking a few steps towards the great door to the outside.

"So it is, and so it was, my dear Phantom Queen," the regal woman acknowledged quietly, locks of hair tumbling around her face as she looked down briefly. "Though I'm sure you have your own objectives to fulfill, and your own scenario, at least so far, our goals and methods are in accord."

The black-clad Shadow Warlock, fallen goddess of The World, smiled at those words as she herself headed towards the Chaos Gate nearby.

"For now yes…as our plans do involve more than just The World, don't they?" Morganna inquired, almost to herself. "Especially in the case of the Third Child…'

"Perhaps so, and perhaps not…just see to it that Fili the White finds what he seeks, as he will prove to be most useful in the trying days ahead, as 'Father' to dear Skari," the red-clad noblewoman spoke at last, heading to the door. "Our berserker is fast learning some of his unique abilities, and someone must be there to occasionally help him on his path."

"Ah yes, I do recall that match and the words that Fili spoke as Gendor," the Phantom Queen murmured approvingly, smirking. "I must say, of the phases, you are most like the Machinator, Gorre, as you are more devious than I had expected."

"Coming from you, that's quite the compliment."

Rings of azure light descended, as a heavy door swung open and closed, leaving the citadel as silent as it had once been.

**

* * *

**

**Concerto**

Though the crowds were long gone after the coronation ceremony, Tomoyami of the Shadow remained on the presentation platform, standing on the red carpet spread between four great pillars of marble that reached for the sky. Without her weapon and without the emotional mask she normally wore, she looked rather like anyone in The World, a simple, vulnerable player who showed no sign of being either an Arena champion, or a greatly feared Chaotic PK.

Were someone to look at her, watching the way she sighed, as her loose flowing white dress shifted fluid in the wind, with her long streaming pigtails of lustrous black hair steaming out behind her, one might even think she had lost in the Arena, as her melancholic air did not seem that of a champion.

'_That idiot,' _she thought to herself, shaking her head. '_When I told him to be a man,_ _I didn't mean to take stupid risks and get himself infected with AIDA trying to be a big damn hero. From the Flash Mail that Arano sent me, I know that they went to try to find whoever it was behind these PK incidents, but why did they have to go off alone? I know he's gotten stronger after our training together, but…I never thought he would just get taken by AIDA like this. There was such pain in his eyes…it was like he could see everything he was doing, but couldn't stop it, like he was trapped inside his own mind. Can AIDA really do such a thing?'_

She shook her head, idly stretching out her hand as if to grasp the very wind, feeling how its currents slipped through her fingers, like teardrops lost in the rain. How fragile even the strongest of bonds seemed sometimes, when in an instant, tragedy could strike with subtle knife, slicing away memories, self-control, reason…tearing away what made a person who he was.

'_Because if I'm honest, it wasn't Eris that made Arano into a Lost One…it was Aruna, wasn't it?'_

Chains of control and guilt, forcing an undesired conflict in which the stakes were the same as during the Eris conflict, but where the one controlled was patently unwilling. Tomoyami could see that clearly enough, as every move the Tribal Grappler had made was laced with frustration and regret, and thus weaker than it could have been—and yet, for all her power, she had only managed to fight Aruna to a standstill. What would happen when next they met, the girl had no idea, though she could sense the rate at which everything was spiraling out of control.

'_And yet I have to face him, because I don't, he'll never be free, will he? These hands with which I've fought, with which I've touched the lives of others, and explored meanings for myself—will the strength in them be enough when he's no longer holding back?'_

_Clank-clank-rustle!_ From behind the pigtailed girl came the sound of footsteps, causing Tomoyami to whirl about to face an unshaven Steam Gunner wearing orange sunglasses, a blood red tunic, black trousers, and a flowing black overcoat.

'_This man…Gendor…he fought Skari early in the Tournament, and he had Casper and Balthasar_ _with him,' _the Flick Reaper recalled, studying the other curiously. _'Could he too be one of Helba's agents? Or does he have his own agenda?'_

"It does not suit such a pretty young woman to be consumed with sadness," the unshaven Steam Gunner voiced, seemingly concerned for her welfare. "Especially when one has prevailed in the Arena and fought well against a superior foe."

"You…you're the one who fought Skari as his father…Gendor, was it?" asked Tomoyami of the Shadow, recent victor of the Holy Palace Tournament. "The one who told Skari to become strong, to destroy the memory of you…"

"I am indeed. So, you remember me, although I am insignificant in the grand scheme of things," Gendor noted, shrugging expansively, a trace of something flashing through his eyes and vanishing. "So how does it feel to have survived a near-death encounter?"

"Hm?" _'How much does he know?'_

"Don't bother pleading ignorance, as I am aware of the existence of AIDA, as well as the identity of the boy you faced," the rogue spy replied, his tone indicating that he was not there for his amusement today. "As I am aware of who you are, for though you call yourself Tomoyami of the Shadow in The World, in reality, you are the light, are you not?"

'_I'll play along for now, that I may discover this man's objectives…'_

"And what of it?" the Flick Reaper asked, responding to the question with a noncommittal other. "Am I not on self here and another there?"

"Ah, the human quality of self-deception…for you know as well as anyone else how the thesis of Hikari and the anti-thesis of Tomoyami come together in a sort of synthesis," the Steam Gunner said knowingly. "As the light, you have always been a seeker of truth, a protector of order have you not? And though you claim to serve Chaos in this guise, you continue to seek the truth."

"What is your point Gendor? I tire of this," Tomoyami uttered wearily. Indeed, the pigtailed girl was somewhat unnerved, as this intrusion had come when she was already on her last legs from exhaustion. The day had not been pleasant for her, though the over-the-top Commentator did tend to inspire a small smile here or there with his over the top remarks.

"Then I shall I ask of you, what is your essential truth?" the unshaven man inquired of her. "What is your reason for fighting and risking your life in a grand conflict? Do you believe you are fighting for something more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Is it that you fight to protect the order that you are so adamant about, the status quo, or do you as well have a sense of purpose…Fifth Child? I would ask that you discover this for yourself if you hope to achieve your aims. That is all."

Without another word, the Steam Gunner turned and walked away, leaving the pigtailed girl deep in thought on the dais.

**

* * *

**

**Dithyramb**

He screamed in the darkness, but no one could hear his voice, now where he was, suspended in the air, entrapped by all the evils of the world. The living shadows clustered around him, searing into his mind, reaching into his past and showing him memories of failure, memories of loss, memories of how many suffered that he could reach the place her was now.

"Well now...shall you and I play a game, Touji Suzuhara?" a strangely sibilant voice inquired from without. "Look upon yourself…and be judged!"

In his mind, the boy was chained, forced to watch again and again as he punched the Third Child, showed aggression to his friends, turned Kensuke into a Lost One, fought Tomoyami, leered at girls, and committed a thousand other violations.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop. _Pause. _Clip-clop-clip-clop._

'_Selfish. Selfish. Selfish, you are selfish, committing crimes of grudge, crimes of self-interest, unconscious crime, self-conscious crime, inducement of self-destruction, theft of glory, the burning of another's dreams, violation, mass violence, death at work, blame blame blame for overconfidence, fight the power fight and DIE.'_

Laughter.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop. _Pause. _Clip-clop-clip-clop._

'_Scorn from judgment, scorn from mortal lechery, concealment of truth, violation violation VIOLATION, for lust for "love" for fraud, pain pain searing pain, self-loathing self-disgust, chorus of compulsion, desire to scream out but voice is silent, sublimation failed, as you are guilty guilty guilty, failure to friends, failure to family, failure to self. DIE.'_

Laughter.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop. _Pause. _Clip-clop-clip-clop._

'_Dirty, you are dirty, you must be cleaned, ATONE ATONE ATONE, for every pain for every deed, for every crime every victim of the world, avatar of human greed. Malignance, treachery, burning passion, fading fading fading, leeching warmth from others to satisfy a lust for self-destruction, shadenfreude hurting others, murdering one day at a time…it is all your fault ALL YOUR FAULT. DIE.'_

Laughter.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop. _Pause. _Clip-clop-clip-clop._

'_Crush the will, crush the bones, crush the bones, crush the head and watch it pop like grapes squeezed between fingers, gouging eyes lashes with cat-o-nine tails, crack sizzle pop of human flesh roasted o'er inferno, charred to perfection, madness beckons, cool requiem of insanity, lose control, lose reason, lose hope, give in GIVE IN GIVE IN. DIE.'_

Laughter.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop. _Pause. _Clip-clop-clip-clop._

'_Tread upon memory, tread upon delirium, tread upon the others and climb towards the top. Ascend, descend, silly-go-round of life and death indulgence, sluggish heart, immoral cascade reaction, ribs confining throat constricting CRACK POP agony erupt from within, fight the power, choking choking out of breath, light, terrible light, built on the bones of friends, discarding hope, discarding joy, RAW RAW, futility, mortal breath futility. MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP. DIE.'_

Laughter.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop. _Pause. _Clip-clop-clip-clop._

'_Echo echo echo, desolation, field of crosses, scorching, howling ringing searing ripping flailing about, tattered remnant__, sister crushed, sister dead, sister hurt, your fault your fault YOUR FAULT. Scream no one will hear, scream like an animal, scream in terror, scream in pain. SCREAM ATONER SCREAM the cry of GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY. DIE.'_

Laughter.

Eyes glazed over, mind lost, lips shaping silently only the words

"..._Guilty…Guilty…Guilty…"_

**

* * *

**

**Madrigal**

In the small HOME of Moon Tree, the young Flick Reaper Zelkova sat upon his knees, contemplating the turn of events that had taken him to here. The past, the present, possible futures intertwined, blending into a fusion of thoughts that spiraled out into infinity. It was certainly an interesting thing to be a guildmaster, a role that placed him in contact with so many individuals, a role where he was happiest. For he had once been a bard, retelling legends of old, but now it was time to become something of one in his own right.

'_It is a passing strange thought that the embodiment of Rumor should become the rock of Net Slum, the great tree inspiring others to reach for the stars in their own way. For it is the ones who dwell in this world who make it what it is—no world is inherently better or worse than another.'_

In many ways, the little boy with golden eyes though himself unsuited for command, since his past roles were always mysterious ones, with him appearing every now and then as a herald or someone who inspired the chosen ones. And too, he lacked ambition, his true nature showing through in how he preferred exploring fields in The World or teaching his members the ways of The World—yet this apparently was cause for admiration in the much more turbulent World of R2. Thus, it never ceased to amaze him how Moon Tree was growing so quickly…

'_It must be reassuring to others to find that not all of us in this World desire power at the cost of everything else. To know that there is still a sense of trust, even in this place. Perhaps this is why The World: R2 is a world of guilds, as lacking a general sense of spirit in The World, people turn to smaller groups for acceptance, as all of us, no matter who we are, define ourselves by what we do and who we choose to associate ourselves with.'_

He himself played several roles, associated himself with several different groups: Moon Tree, Net Slum, the dothackers…even the now effectively defunct Obsidian Knights (for after all, he could not be a commander of Knights if there was but one remaining Knight). There was a slight pang in his heart as he thought back to how each of the fallen had sacrificed themselves for the sake of their duty—Melchior to protect him from the onslaught of Siarl and Casper to eliminate the rogue Melchior.

'_Perhaps this is what The World needs, someone who inspires from example, as the dothackers did, but not quite so mysterious as to be forgotten. I suppose that too, is a path to follow…"_

"Rumor, are you satisfied?" asked his sole companion within the HOME on this day, a young blonde-haired girl dressed in a revealing white outfit, topped off with a large white witch hat. "You who were a weaver of legends and a legend himself…"

"It is a new world, and there are new legends to be written…I have will take my place in helping to guide The World to a new Golden Age, as I think that is what the Goddess would desire of me."

**

* * *

**

**Nocturne**

He walked onwards in a place where the all-pervasive eyes of Helba did not reach, a place considered of The World and yet not, where the graphics of the fields were replaced with an abstract masterpiece of with walls and floors of blue-green cubes shot through with flowing streams of green data, with here and there a few cubes floating in midair. The Outer Dungeons, this place was called, a refuge created as a byproduct of AIDA's corrosion of The World.

'_How very fitting then, that I should be here in the Shadows, while up above, the Dark Evangel celebrates what he might consider a victory—or perhaps a defeat, having won the world, but losing his soul in the process. For soon, AIDA will corrode him too, the Slayer of Angels who dares to wield an Angel's might, as the conqueror breaches its restraints and shows the path of fallen. Anger, rage, madness…the power that releases one from the binds of sanity…as a being with much buried inside of him, that Child will soon fall, especially when he sees that all to this point has been an exercise in futility.'_

The black and silver robed Macabre Dancer paused for a moment, drawing a blob of shadow from the very aether of The World, looking at it with a smirk upon his face.

"When AIDA first awakened into The World after the disappearance of Aura, the first thing it saw was a PK," he mused aloud, privy to AIDA's shared memories because of his own nature as something other than human. "And like any lifeform, it learned from what it saw, drinking in the malice, anger, hate of the Lilim in this place and evolving into a more aggressive form…a curse shaped by mortal thoughts and deeds that has become so powerful that it has a life of its own."

Siarl of the Seven Eyes laughed, a coolly musical laugh that expressed the entertainment he derived from watching the Lilim at their games, seeing their futile attempts to persist in spite of their inevitable demise, for the lot of a mortal was to die.

'_And the Lilim as a whole have doomed themselves, their deeds in fact creating an anti-existence as they seek their end. Granted, they use things like music and stories to bring them joy and distract them from their morbid little thoughts, but even the highest form of Lilim culture is a distraction from reality, allowing them to run away from the consequences of their actions.'_

One of things he found deliciously ironic was how they fought against the Angels to preserve their dying world, without realizing that their world was already doomed, as long the 18th Angel…humanity, continued to exist.

'_But then, that is only right, for the Children of the Usurper to turn on one another as Lilith turned on Adam, destroying themselves as surely as any disease, any blight from beyond the stars. And in Evangelion, the shadows of Adam, they have created_ _the very instrument of their destruction. The smith that blows hot the coals in flame to forge a sword that will one day kill him…Second Impact was that flame, as the foolish ones unleashed the fires of destruction upon their world.'_

It amused him how blind most of the Lilim were to their own machinations, blind enough that they would continue to obey orders, fighting against an outer foe, while never confronting the enemy within. So many selves there were, propagating through the minds of their compatriots like…a virus, each of those selves as false as the original, the construct of a feeble intellect trying to justify a meaningless, purposeless existence.

'_And to think the Lilim believe that they are fighting for something worthwhile, when they are nothing more than a disease, a cancer that Lilith forced upon Gaia and Adam. Tokyo-3, the great city of man, metal spires, glittering glass…with the fall of a single switch, is left helpless, if electricity is cut off. The might of the Fruit of Knowledge is simply an illusion, a vagary of perception that lets them believe they have free will, when in truth, they are as bound by their roles as any of the Children of Adam.'_

But his most appreciative chuckle came when he contemplated his late servant, the puppet known as Eris, the Bringer of Strife, who had more than lived up to her name in her actions as well as her fall, dividing the Children, eroding trust—even becoming infected with the same power she had inadvertently helped to create.

'_Yes, for she was the PK that the AIDA first encountered long ago, when they were simply observers, neither light nor shadow. It was the instability and raw emotions bleeding from the Bringer of Strife that warped them, that allowed a mutant to be born…so in a sense, she was the mother of Tri-Edge, a goddess of discord indeed. In her struggle to find exterior confirmation of her existence, the little doll created the anti-existence of humanity, the tool that I shall use to bring about the End.'_

"You are indeed the best at what you do, Asuka Langley Soryu, a prime exemplar of the Lilim," Siarl spoke into the aether. "Though what you do is build the path to your destruction, like the rest of your doomed species.'

**

* * *

**

**Finale **

The Adept Rogue Skari was startled from his reverie by the soft _pitter-patter_ of raindrops falling upon his head. Puzzled, he frowned, as rain was never supposed to come to this place, nor to the city across the harbor, and yet the evidence of his senses indicated that a downpour was indeed occurring, as bursting cumulonimbus deposits of moisture and pregnant monsoon winds broke water, the ground below flinching with the shock of a deluge of simultaneous impactors detonating in the fullness of a microsecond to seep into dripping into caverns left untouched by the feet of creatures long extinct.

'_But how can this be that there is rain in this place? Mac Anu and __Hy Brasail alike are places where the weather has always been constant, welcoming others into this World_.'

And yet the waters poured down in the night, pale moonbeams skipping from liquid prism crystal displays hurtling in thrall of gravity merrily plunging to destruction's call, on an all-too-brief voyage on the refined road of absolution.

"Perhaps this is how it was intended to be…" the Third Child murmured, unmoving as the tears from above washed over him, closing his eyes—which instantly snapped open again when the background music changed from triumphant to a mournful melody on the wind.

'_Never have I heard something more appropriate to how I—wait, that's not normal…that voice, someone is singing in the distance…could it be that Reimeiki-chan has awakened?'_

His movements taught with urgency, he snapped in motion, straining his ears to try and locate where the voice was coming from. It was distant, and hard to pick out, but his musically trained hearing (possibly his best sense), told him that it was coming from somewhere near the pier below.

'_There, in the distance through the hazy veil of rain…a figure in white sitting on the pier…holding something red...could that be a lycoris flower?'_

He broke into a run, a sense of joy filling his heart as his troubles vanished, leaving the Adept Rogue uncaring of dignity, gravitas, or any else he was supposed to maintain as Emperor. It wasn't like anyone else was around to see him anyway, and if was her…he didn't mind looking like a fool.

So hoping against hope, he sprinted down from the citadel to the docks, slowing as he came near to the singer so as not to startle her.

"Lycor—" a shout started in his throat, a shout that died as the girl turned to him with a wistful expression on her face. _'This isn't her…'_

Though she looked very much like Lycoris, and even carried the blossom that shared her name, this girl who sang in the rain was someone else entirely, a girl clad in a flowing white dress, with saffron-colored hair and reddish-purple eyes.

"At the end of the world, I returned to the wind," the girl in white spoke softly, the song cutting off as she looked at the Adept Rogue like she was peering into the depths of his soul. "But in the time of shadows, I found myself wandering alone again, until I smelled a scent I know well…and so I came here, hoping to find whoever it was."

"Wha…"

Almost shyly, the little girl took hold of Skari's right hand and brought it to her nose as if in confirmation.

"You _are_ the one I was searching for," she whispered softly, looking into Skari's eyes with an expression he found almost painfully familiar. "But why…why do you smell like me?"

"Who…who are you?"

"My name…is Zefie…"


	48. Logout 20: Errant Residuals

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Errant Residuals**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Human Instrumentality Committee, Emergency Meeting**

It wasn't easy being the Third Child. Granted, there were plenty of people (well, ok, Kensuke) who would kill to be in his position, as they considered piloting a giant mecha to be the be all and end all of life of teenage achievement, and the perks weren't too bad (as working for an international organization whose raison d'être was saving the world would definitely net good references for future employment opportunities), but on the other hand…

There was the risk of death and dismemberment every time one so much as looked at an Evangelion unit, the nigh constant rounds of sync/harmonics tests, the rather hostile work environment (fostered by the Commander, the brusque Doctor Akagi, and the other pilots…well, pilot now…since the First and Second Children were in comas), and worst of all, little to no pay. While this certainly avoided any quibbling about whether or not this violated the school prohibition on part-time jobs, it didn't make for the best job in the world either.

Today, just to add insult to the near-death experience incurred in the 12th Angel Incident, the Third Child stood in the middle of a column of light, an isolated spot of brightness in an otherwise dark room, dressed in his usual ensemble of shirt and slacks (one had to wonder if Shinji ever went shopping for new clothes?), as he stared out into the void. Having enough on his mind already ever since facing down Eris in the Arena, being interrogated by the Human Instrumentality Committee was not something he especially looked forward to, especially as he was the last of the original Children not to have fallen into a coma.

"In this incident, is it true that the Angel tried to make contact with a human?" rang a voice out of darkness.

"No, sir, not that I recall," the brown-haired boy replied honestly. And it was true, as the contact he remembered was with his self-who-watched, who he had encountered before now, so the likelihood of that being an Angelic encounter was small. "I have already recounted the details in my debriefing, which should be on record."

"That is, if you remember correctly," another voice interjected, smug and condescending as if he were some strange transhuman monolith plotting the destruction (or at least humiliation) of man. "As Evangelion Unit-01's AC recorder was not operating, there is no way to confirm that there has been no external tampering to your memory."

At those words, the Third Child was careful to keep his flash of irritation from showing on his face. Fortunately, this was becoming easier over time, as this was technically only a minor slight, even if it was a patent waste of his time.

'_If they don't think my memory is accurate, and they don't have any evidence either way, then was the point of calling me in front of this Committee? I have other things to do…make my hospital round for the day, see how Hikari is holding up after last night, talk to Kaji, and then go to Zefie, who is waiting for me back at Net Slum…'_

For during the strange cloudburst at Hy Brasail, the brown-haired boy had met someone whose appearance had utterly unnerved him: a girl in white with saffron-colored hair and reddish-purple eyes, who on some fundamental level reminded him of Lycoris.

'_From her voice to the way she looks, from her nature to the spider lily in her hands…the two are eerily similar. Of course, that Zefie is the child of Aura explains some things, such as why she is able to change the weather, but it doesn't explain why I apparently smell like her, when I've never met her before in my life. Most likely it was the Bracelet that she sensed…but it was Lycoris who gave me that…'_

Seeing that the Third Child remained silently stoic, the Committee decided to move on to the next question on their list, since they would get nothing else from him by ribbing him.

"Was the Angel interested in the human mind?" a more solicitous voice inquired of the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01.

"To answer that question, wouldn't one have to know if Angels have an understanding of the mind?" countered Shinji, puzzled at why they were asking him these questions. "Do they understand human thoughts? This much is unknown, though perhaps you'd be better off asking the Fourth…he seems to know more about Angels, since he talks about them fairly often, saying one person or another is an Angel."

"Silence," thundered yet another voice from the shadows. Just how many of them were there, and why did they insist on hiding their faces? Really…just what did they want from him? "You were not called before this Committee to make idle speculation concerning the status of the Fourth Child."

"However, since you have mentioned the other Children," one of the more reasonable voices added, "as the only remaining member of the original three Children, are you aware of any possible explanation for the comatose conditions of the others?"

Having willingly faced the prospect of death only last night in an attempt to bring back the Lost Ones, the brown-haired boy most certainly had an idea, but since he was also a dothacker, having known both Morganna and Helba, he had an idea of what the Committee might order if he disclosed this truth. If they learned of AIDA's existence, they would likely shut down the global network and order a complete reset of its contents to prevent the threat from further spreading—and he couldn't allow that to happen, since that would also mean the death of all the Lost Ones.

'_After everything I've been through, I'm not_ _going to just let them die…Rei, Reimeiki, Kensuke, and everyone else…that would be a terrible betrayal, just running away to let someone else deal with the problem. Besides, if this outcome were to happen…then Siarl will have his victory, and I won't let that bastard win!'_

No, he would listen to the words of the father he had fought, the one who forced him to stand on his own two feet, to stop chasing after his father's back. He would not run from this and leave the fates of the Lost in the Committee's hands…he would keep it in his own.

Thus his response…

"Unfortunately, I am not aware of the circumstances surrounding those tragic events," the Third Child replied simply, which was not a complete lie. "It is rumored that there have been hackers spreading viruses as of late, perhaps that could be the explanation."

'Twas a safe enough story, since it was also the official line of both CyberConnect Corporation and the World Network Council, but unfortunately, SEELE was familiar with cover stories, and didn't buy it.

"You should watch your speech with care, Third Child," a deep, sepulchral voice intoned. "A perjurer before this committee shall die. Are you aware that before the Second Child fell into a coma, she submitted a report to the World Network Council claiming that you were the hacker inducing nocebo comas in others by simulating mind death, further claiming that that you were the culprit behind the First's collapse."

"I am aware," the boy said neutrally, "as that is what she had threatened to do several times over after I angered her during an incident in the First Child's hospital room, and the Fourth notified me of this at the school. As I stand before you today, I assume that the results of the investigation have acquitted me?"

"You are not permitted to question!" warned the rumbling voice that had thundered earlier. "But will you not admit that it is highly suspicious how after accusing you of causing the coma incidents, the Second Child herself fell into a coma?"

"I will admit no such thing," the Third responded, revealing a slight irritation at being asked this series of questions. "If she indeed filed the report to the World Network Council, and another was aware of it, they may have acted on it to implicate me. I do not see the purpose in this line of inquiry."

"Oh? So are you saying that you will defy the will of the Committee?" the sepulchral voice asked in a gravelly tone. "And who do you think you are to do so?"

This challenge, Shinji Ikari would reply to, head held high as he glared out into the darkness around him, eyes blazing with self-knowledge.

"I have responded to the best of my ability to the questions this Committee has asked of me in as far as it pertains to my role in NERV. Since coming to Tokyo-3, I have defeated every Angel I have faced, done as I have been asked by staff and Committee alike. And yet today you question not only my actions, but my competence and my intelligence with baseless accusations," he answered, briefly stating his grievances with the Committee as a whole. "As for who I am, I am the Third Child Shinji Ikari, the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, whose purpose is to defeat the Angels."

"…That will be enough, Third Child. Leave."

Without another word, Shinji Ikari walked out of the room, glad to leave this place behind.

When he had gone, another light snapped on in the room of dark, revealing the presence of Gendo Ikari.

"The Third Child is more assertive than was predicted, Ikari," rumbled SEELE-01, half-measures of amusement and irritation in his tone. "He is certainly his father's son. But with regards to the situation, what are your thoughts?"

"The Angels are getting more and more intelligent. The time left is…"

"Very short."

* * *

**Tokyo-3 General Hospital**

Hikari Horaki walked along the sterile corridors of the largest hospital in Tokyo-3, having becoming nearly as familiar with the building as Shinji was with NERV Medical, the events of the last few days cycling through her mind as she plodded along. After the conversation with Gendor at Hy Brasail, she was startled by the sudden downpour, and had gone to look for Shinji, but was unable to locate him, as he had seemingly vanished from the field.

(begin flashback)

The pigtailed girl had come out of her synchronization trance to find Aranami-sensei looking at the still entranced Third Child with an expression that was almost pitying, as if she had seen the road he would have to walk, and envied him not at all.

'_I wonder what Sensei knows that she's not telling us…although she and Reimeiki both seem to live normal lives upon first glance, they undoubtedly have many secrets. I wonder who she was before she came to Tokyo-3, and how she came to know the hacker queen Helba.' _

"Aranami-sensei?" she had muttered weakly, upon her mind returning to her body after an evening of being linked with The World. "Is something wrong? Ikari-kun hasn't logged out from The World yet?"

"Nothing is wrong, save for the usual," the fallen Goddess replied softly, turned to regard the Class Representative with the same strange, knowing expression with which she had looked at the Third Child. "And no, Skari has not returned to this world as of yet—he has gone to Net Slum with my…with Aura's daughter."

'_Ah, I see, he's gone to Net Slum with…wait Aura's daughter? How can someone younger than Reimeiki-chan have a daughter already? And didn't she die…?'_

Hikari did a fast double take as those words sank in, unable to picture someone who should be Lycoris' younger sister (by everything she had been told) as a mother.

"Aura's daughter? But didn't Aura die at the end of the Second Network Crisis?" she noted skeptically, face screwed up in puzzlement as she considered the strange web of connections and misdirection that enveloped this particular family. "So how can she have a daughter…?"

While most people would be hard pressed to answer something like this, Morganna, by her nature as a former goddess, already had an idea of what would be believable, and what would not. And in this situation, revealing part of the truth was probably for the best…

"Do you remember my lecture on AIs and artificial consciousness several weeks ago?" the dark-haired woman asked, looking down at the headset in her hands. "After Aura died to stop the Cursed Wave, giving up her individuality, she was reborn in the sea of data as the Goddess of the Network…the Ultimate AI, one might say. Her daughter Zefie is also of that nature, formed from a last lingering portion of the one you know as Reimeiki, since although she was saved, a part of her remained within The World, out of a desire not to let her sister suffer her fate."

"So then…this Zefie is also an AI?" Hikari asked in confirmation. "One that is based on a memory of Reimeiki?"

"Yes, indeed…and except for the fact that she does not have a body in this world, she is as real as you or I," Morganna replied, nodding. "As is the one you knew as Rumor, actually, as he too is a shadowless one, wandering The World."

The fallen goddess could not resist a light chuckle in response to the look on the pigtailed girl's face, almost as if she had never considered the fact that Rumor (Zelkova now) might not be human.

"Rumor is…?"

"Ah, you didn't realize, did you, that the one who told you to become a dothacker was himself an AI?" asked Aranami-sensei, eyes deep and penetrating. "It is not as uncommon as you think, as the old version of The World was originally designed by Harald Hoerwick to facilitate the evolution and development of artificial intelligence as a way to immortalize his love for Emma Wielant."

'_The World wasn't designed as a game…but as a system to promote the evolution of AIs?'_

"…and how do you know about this, Aranami-sensei?" Hikari countered in turn. "I know you used to work at CyberConnect Corporation, but the way you speak of it, it is almost as if you have a personal connection to the topic."

The fallen goddess sighed in response, knowing that she would need to describe things in more detail.

"Very well then, fifth child, since you ask…I will tell you the story of The World, and of the times of Twilight," she said at last. "And perhaps I shall fill you in on the role you must play as well…"

From there, the conversation had continued onto other matters, discussing things such as Angels, AIs, AIDA, miracles, and the power of emotions to overcome the binds of certainty.

(end flashback)

'_It is strange, really, how much Aranami-sensei knows…and also that she seems to be an old associate of Helba, or at least knew her. I wonder what the exact relationship between them is, since neither really defers to the other…and Helba is legendary as the greatest of hackers.'_

So Hikari Horaki mused, as she continued to walk towards the room where her friend Reimeiki Hakubo lay in her unchanging state, frowning as she thought she recognized a familiar voice coming from inside. She opened the door, discovering, much to her surprise, the one named Kaworu Nagisa sitting by the silver-haired girl's side, singing as he studied the sleeping form of the young forerunner to the goddess.

"Dies irae, dies illa calamitatis et miseriae; dies magna et amara valde…", the Fourth Child chanted quietly, "Requiem aeternam, dona eis…."

Twas not an ode, but a requiem, a prayer for the salvation of the soul of the departed, which essentially translated to "_The day of wrath, that day of calamity and misery; a great and bitter day, indeed…__Grant them eternal rest."_

Sensing another visitor, the Angel ceased his singing and looked up at the pigtailed girl curiously, turning to her and spreading her arms in the universal gesture of welcome and acceptance.

"Greetings to you, Class Representative Horaki," Kaworu murmured, his expression open and guileless as ever. "I see you have come to visit your fallen friend, though I doubt that she can hear your voice."

"So I am," Hikari Horaki said simply. "And what of yourself, Nagisa-san? You did not know Reimeiki-san, did you, so why are you here?"

"I have simply come to pay my respects to a being born of Twilight," the other replied with a distant expression. "A blessed body most fascinating, who would be a most interesting and worthy Lilim, were she actually of the Lilim, rather than a shadowless one who gained a shadow by means unknown."

"Is that so?" the pigtailed girl rebutted, a hint of skepticism underlying her tone. "That reminds me, you called me a Lilim when we first met some time ago…what exactly is a Lilim?"

A cool, breathy laugh issues from the lips of Nagisa as he stood and walked over to the window, where he looked down upon the people on the street outside.

"The Lilim, of course, are the children of Lilith, who in myth is the first wife of Adam—"

"…are you saying I am a demon of some sort?" Hikari countered, voice low and dangerous. "Because from what myth I know, the children of Lilith are succubae or other creatures of the dark."

"Hmph, a creature of the dark? Well, I suppose that description would indeed suit a shadowed one, would it not?" the grey-haired boy asked of her. "One who has eaten of the Fruit of Knowledge, and knows not only of good, but evil…what most would call humans."

The Class Representative reviewed Nagisa's words in her head and frowned, catching onto an inconsistency with what he was saying.

'_He says "what most would call humans" and "Lilim"…speaking as if he himself is not human. And he has a very strange knowledge of the Epitaph, which outside of Class 2-A and several online communities, is not common knowledge.'_

"Are you saying that you are not human then, with your way of speaking?" she questioned, wanting at least that much information from the enigmatic boy. "Is that why Soryu was able to put up with you while she hated everyone else as a rival?"

But once again, the grey-haired boy was almost completely unfazed, appearing mildly amused at best.

"Perhaps it is because of the pain that Asuka Langley Soryu bore within her heart that she rejected the company of others, fearing they would hurt her," Kaworu explained eloquently. "For she feared, above all, the portrayal of the self in her mind and in the minds of others, feared that they would shun her, reject her. To suffer and to be alone…that is what it means to be human, to be an individual isolated from the greater whole."

The Fourth Child bore a neutral expression as he turned to face the Class Representative and walked past her, making for the door.

"And as for whether or not I am human, by what measure is a human a human? Biologically, I am as human as the girl who lies sleeping in this room or the First Child," he said at last, his words throwing a curve into the conversation. "Whether or not I am as human as you…would depend on your definition of human, wouldn't it?"

A quiet click and the door closed, leaving Hikari Horaki alone with the silent form of her friend, amidst the whirr, clicks, and hisses of life support equipment all around.

* * *

**Commander Ikari's Office, NERV HQ**

Having lost both the First and Second Children, Commander Ikari had not been especially pleased with the way things were strongly deviating from his scenario. Not only had the Dummy Plug system been left incomplete in such a state that an EVA would not move, but the First Child, his great trump card, would not wake from his coma. Even killing off the current Rei and attempting to activate a new clone did not work, as it seemed that the soul of Lilith had vanished from the room of Gauf, something that had caused him no end of headaches. The Fourth had proven to be somewhat unpredictable, though given his sync ratio, he did seem to be a useful candidate, even if he had been sent directly from the Committee. And the Third…

'_The Third Child is more assertive than was predicted at this point, as noted in his interrogation with the Committee. However, he is also the most reliable of the Evangelion Pilots to date, and the only remaining original Child. Thus, nothing can be done about him at this point, as he is necessary counter to the Fourth's possible influences.'_

Considering his possible moves, the spider of NERV sat crouched within his lair, a shadow hidden within the Tree of Sephiroth peering callously down upon any who dared intrude against his bidding. Like a statue he was, his face like an impassive stone slate as he sat in the darkness, eyes hidden behind orange lenses, as he sat in the darkness and discussed the situation with Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, who was even now telling him that another of the present candidates would need to be—

"…appointed as the Fifth," the bearded man noted dispassionately.

"Indeed," the good doctor acknowledged. "There is one child whose core will be ready immediately."

"Then I leave all of this to you. That will be all—please send the Special Investigator in on your way out."

With a nod, the bottle blond Director of Project E left, as moments later, the perpetually unshaven spy Ryoji Kaji entered.

"I have come as you requested," the Special Investigator reported in, only to see the face of what might as well be a stone monolith.

'_At least I do not have to take on your visage any longer…this has been a vaguely distasteful exercise in the game of spies.'_

"Excellent," the Commander murmured, sunglasses flashing in the dim light of the room. "What is the progress of your investigation of the Fourth as well as Yumi Aranami?"

"The Fourth Child seems to have been involved with the Second Child's online incident," the rogue spy related, "and given his close relationship to her, it is likely that he has been manipulating her through her history. As for Aranami, the woman seems to have a great many varied interests, but is ultimately a harmless eccentric."

**

* * *

**

**NERV Medical**

After his debriefing by the Commander, Special Investigator Ryoji Kaji was now meeting with another contact of his—or perhaps, one should say, was being forced into a meeting by the one person his heart still had a weakness to (a liability in the espionage field): Misato Katsuragi. In order to avoid the prying eyes of NERV staff or any other walls that might have eyes, they had elected to meet at the First Child's hospital room, as the Operations Director checking on the health of her pilots was understandable.

Looking around, the spy noted the details of the room: sterile and metallic, with the fallen form of the first laying on the sole bed, chest rising and falling as she slept on, medical equipment scattered around her, monitoring things like her heartbeat and her brain waves. In short, it was one as dark and bereft of warmth as any of the others, except for a vase with blue roses and honeysuckle on the small table by the bed.

'_And that must be the Third Child's doing, as he visits this place fairly regularly…'_

The spy waited in darkness, watching both the door and the First Child. According to what he had heard from Helba, the First had become a Lost One through The World, not by natural causes, but because of the influence of a certain threat called AIDA, a threat indirectly spawned and exacerbated by the Second Child's actions. As for why the Second Child was now in a coma, the other party had suggested that perhaps she had outlived her usefulness to whoever had infected her, which was a possibility…though he didn't think it was the Third Child, even if he was the only remaining member of the original pilots.

Hearing the sound of the door clicking open and closed, with the familiar footfalls of a certain purple-haired Director of Operations, he broke his silence.

"How peaceful the First Child seems, in her endless sleep," he commented, as Major Katsuragi, his now on-again, off-again love interest came into view.

"More like how vulnerable, without her brittle strength," Misato replied, raising an eyebrow. "Well?"

"It's not like you to ask for help from someone," Kaji noted, remembering at least that trait from the years they had been together. "Least of all me."

"I don't care at all what people say about me," the Major spoke softly, purposefully. "I'm not feeling very reserved at the moment, since I found out about the Fifth Child. I was already suspicious with the coming of the Fourth, but after the too-convenient selection of the Fifth…"

'_Ah, suspicion, the same thing that drove me to betray my masters in my personal quest for the truth.'_

"I will tell you one thing," the unshaven spy allowed, bending over to whisper into her ear. "The Marduk Institute does not exist…NERV alone is pulling the strings."

"NERV alone?" Misato whispered tonelessly, her body stiffening at Kaji's too-familiar touch. "Commander Ikari?"

"All I will say is this: Code Seven Zero Seven," he murmured to her. "Investigate it."

"Seven Zero Seven?" the Major repeated silently to herself, as the knowledge of it clicked in her head. "Shinji-kun's school?"

A short nod was all the reply Kaji returned, and all the reply she needed.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

The rumor mill of Class 2-A was already quite a fairly well-developed organism in its own right, a hive-minded creature that observed the going-ons of the city and speculated about them, turning the might of parallel processing into possible explanations for why things were the way they had turned out. To them, sometimes malicious, sometimes simply curious, but always wanting to recreate what they saw and experienced (much like AIDA, really), the latest events to be seen had inspired a great deal of controversy.

To their knowledge, as of this morning, both the First and Second Children of NERV, along with the mysterious Reimeiki Hakubo and the resident technowizard/military otaku Kensuke Aida, were all absent, with at least two hospitalized, and the state of the others unknown.

Touji Suzuhara, the class jock and clown, was much more sullen than usual, seeming almost like one of the walking dead in how he moved silently and said nothing, only doing what was required. It was strange how much he resembled a living doll in this condition.

Kaworu Nagisa, the mysterious transfer student and rumored boyfriend to Asuka Langley Soryu, had a sad smile on his face, but other than that seemed as calm and collected as usual, observing everyone as they observed him. Who got the better end of that exchange was unknown.

Shinji Ikari was once again absent, presumably on duty at NERV for one thing or another. It was at this time that Kensuke's presence was most missed, since he would have provided a very reasonable explanation for what was happening.

But perhaps the biggest change was that observed in Hikari Horaki, Class 2-A's very own tyrannical keeper of order, who was not intervening to stop the activities of the gossips and rumormongers who so thoroughly infested said class this morning. Indeed, though she wore the usual iron mask around her emotions, she seemed more tightly wound than usual, and almost distracted, which was most unlike her.

Given that the mutual crush between Touji and Hikari was fairly obvious, the reactions of those two most speculated that it was due to a fight or breakup the two had had, although this didn't quite explain the reasons behind Aida's absence. Of course, knowing him, most of the class assumed that this was because he was following the battleships, as the _Myoukou_ or some other ship of the line was in port.

And so the gossips had turned to their favorite topic: The World, with a focus on the Holy Palace Tournament final of the night before.

"Yes! Did any of you see that epic showdown?" one of the students asked excitedly, jabbering on in the early morn. "Those final attacks…skills like I've never seen before, and that job extend…_wow."_

"Yeah, seriously…when that what would you call it, Beast form or something, unsealed a field of blades…it was like he himself was the bone of his sword," commented one member of the Skari fan club. "Rising again and again against the PK and ultimately destroying her."

"But…what about those twins who were fighting one another…Casper and Melchior, was it?" someone asked quietly, noting an oddity in the match. "I didn't see what happened to them, after smoke covered the field."

"Ah, who cares?" asked the first to have spoken. "All hail the Emperor, Skari the Dark Evangel! And his teammate Tomoyami the Unyielding Shadow!"

At that moment, the door opened, and Morganna walked in to face her assembled students, with her arrival accompanied both by the Class Representative's ritual of "Stand, bow, sit", along with a few seconds of John Williams' "Imperial March" over the PA system, cutting off abruptly as it had begun.

"Today, we will be continuing our exploration assignments in The World," she told the class, quickly getting down to business. "In other words, this is essentially a chance to catch up on any of the past work for this project you have not done. Let us begin…"

'_As I have something I need to accomplish myself…'_

**

* * *

**

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Perhaps it was inevitable that Zefie, the girl who embodied the west wind, would find her way to the great overlook of Net Slum Tartarga, where rested the helm for manual steering of the great aerial citadel. With her eyes closed, the saffron-haired daughter of Aura sat upon the very edge of the overlook, feeling the motion-induced breeze as the tortoise Tartarga bore the Slums on through the skies above The World.

She sang a sweet melody born of an age out of time, a slow refrain that suggested the sadness and majesty of the mountains of the Dragonbein Range, a majesty that travelers and riddlers had often seen in the past, as they came across roads upon which they'd not walked, and upon which they would never walk again. A voice filled with indescribable longing for a place of memory…such was the other meaning of the lycoris blossom she carried, poignant memories…

As she sang, the Mistress of the Net Slums noticed, regarding the young girl as fondly as she did anything.

"Well well, the daughter of Aura," came the perpetually amused voice of the Queen of the Dark, her red robes rustling as she drew near. "You've returned to this world far earlier than I had expected. How things have changed since you were here last…"

"Helba," the little girl acknowledged with a single word. "I returned to the wind when my purpose was done, to watch the world as mother did…but now I wander on, wondering."

"Wondering what, dear Zefie?" the hacker queen asked, moving to stand beside the girl.

"Wondering why Skari smells so much like me, why his bracelet bears my scent, and why I am so drawn to him, even though we've never met before…" whispered the west wind, as she turned to look at the hacker queen with her reddish-purple eyes. Then her tone grew teasing. "So, you decided to put Net Slum on the back of a turtle? And you decided to change from the sorceress' outfit, _ojou-sama_? Did you not enjoy the staff and robes of office you wore before?"

Kaede only rolled her eyes, remembering how playful Zefie could be, and how much mischief she could accomplish.

"It was…out of necessity, given recent circumstances," the Blade Brandier noted, wagging her finger preemptively. "And no, I don't think Tartarga would appreciate a pink afro. Neither would I, at that, though if you ever run across a character named Siarl…feel free."

"_Hmph_…oh well…" Then the little girl smiled at Kaede, looking up to her with a warm, though still somewhat distant expression. "I am glad that you have found a new purpose in this world that we both so dearly love."

Just then, azure rings of light shimmered into existence, as the silver-robed form of Adept Rogue Skari gated into Net Slum, looking around and finally catching sight of the daughter of Aura. Wordlessly, their eyes met, and as if drawn in by an unseen cold hand, he approached her, step-step-stepping until he came at to stand before her, wonder in his eyes.

"Why?" asked the daughter of Aura, standing and putting a hand to the Adept Rogue's cheek. "Why does it feel as if I know you? That you are so very familiar to me?"

The Adept Rogue gently placed his hand over that of the saffron-haired girl as they continued to look at each other, as if there was something they recognized there.

"Why do I feel that I have been waiting for you for such a long time…"

Another warble sounded, as with a flurry of golden rings, a Shadow Warlock clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses, dark violet eyes, and a silver infinity brooch arrived, looking nothing so much as a gothic version of Aura.

"Isn't that my line?" Morganna broke in, something of both anticipation and regret in her expression.

Hearing a voice which she knew only from memories, Zefie slowly turned her head to face the new arrival, murmuring a word in recognition.

"…Grandmother."


	49. Login 20: Vale of Memory

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Vale of Memories**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

"…Grandmother."

A single word was murmured in recognition, as the saffron-haired girl in white, the Daughter of Aura, caught sight of a certain raven-haired woman in black…Morganna, the fallen goddess of The World. They had never before met in these guises, yet between them flashed an instinctive recognition of the other, power acknowledging power in this place different than the World either of them had known.

Forgetting their surroundings, the two goddesses turned to regard one another with something of a challenging air, their wills clashing experimentally against one another as the air shimmered to the accompaniment of effluent melodies and atonal flurries of notes, a display of storm and fury signifying nothing. After a few brief moments, each took a step back and nodded in approval, expressions of wary respect gracing both their faces.

"You are indeed a child of twilight, and in some sense, my opposite," Morganna noted somewhat melancholically, raising a slim eyebrow as she faced her granddaughter. "It would seem that Aura took to being a mother much better than I did."

"I remember…how mother was an unwanted child," the little girl whispered half-accusingly, her eerie gaze fixed upon the fallen goddess of dusk, while she moved to stand closer to the Bearer of the Bracelet. "…and I remember…how you and grandfather both called me the same."

"Oh?" asked the Phantom Queen, looking away from the saffron-haired girl. She was aware that her actions during the Twilight Incident were perhaps not the most…appropriate…and seeing someone who reminded her so much of her greatest failure was rather painful, especially seeing how Aura had been so willing not only to abandon individuality to become a goddess, but to abandon even that absolute power to allow the players their will. Still, Zefie's words tugged at her… "I called you the same? How could that be, when we have never before met? And somehow, I doubt Harald would call any child of the shining girl unwanted."

'_For in his eyes, Aura was always more desired than I…more worthy of life, as I myself was a failure as a system. Still, in seeking to thwart his will, I encountered paradox and enacted it instead…an irony that. Perhaps he knew of how I would react since the time of creation long ago.'_

"But I remember it clearly," recounted Zefie, now puzzled as she looked into distant memories. "The ghost in the church telling me I was a failure, as I wandered The World alone once until I was deleted, and then again until I ran into Shugo- oniichan."

But the fallen goddess of dusk simply shook her head, knowing that this could not be, as she and Zefie had not coexisted at the same time, as they embodied different Ages of The World. The only ones who might have known both were the Children of Twilight, such as the now ascended Aura.

'_Dusk, Twilight, and Dawn: the three faces of power in The World, represented by the Three who had either been or were divinities in the network…I of Dusk, Aura of Twilight, Zefie of dawn, the embodiment of the winds of change and growth. And yet, Aura was once the dawn, and another the Twilight…I wonder…'_

It was true that Morganna and Zefie had not encountered each other in the past as they were now, but perhaps the West Wind had worn another form in this infinite cycle of death and rebirth…

'_It is a possibility, as death usually transforms those of us of the Twilight…'_

"I'm afraid I don't remember that," the fallen goddess voiced quietly, speaking into the winds. Then she turned back to the much younger goddess, with a smile of sorts. "But then, it has been a long, long time…and we are no longer who we once were in the very beginning. However, since our differences and aggravations have been lost to time and memory…"

"…we shouldn't carry over our differences into this world, since we are both different," the little saffron-haired girl nodded in understanding, "Since this is a world where both of us are unknown, we should go about our business without getting in each other's way."

Then the daughter of Aura smirked, snapping her fingers. Instantly, Morganna's flowing black hair was replaced with a poofy pink afro, as the fallen goddess twitched. A muttered incantation later, and the hair was restored to normal.

"…I'd rather that does not extend to pranking me, daughter of Aura," Morganna noted dryly with a disapproving glare, as she regarded both her granddaughter and the Adept Rogue she was holding to tightly. "Besides, with regards to your memories…I would suggest asking dear Skari, who you seem to be so drawn to, like the Child of Twilight Lycoris. Find the answer to why he smells like you, and you may discover far more than you realize in this age of shadows…and mind you, if you go too far, you'll find I'm quite capable of pranks of my own."

"Somehow, I doubt that five years ago would have counted as a prank…"

That verbal barb from the saffron-haired girl, who was not _quite_ as gentle and good-natured as she seemed, elicited a wince from the women clad in black.

"That is not a mistake I intend to make again, I assure you of that," the former goddess said after a few moments of silence. "Finding an unexpected End tends to make one re-evaluate perspectives on one's past. Mind you, my intention was never to hurt your mother, simply to live, a desire you share, do you not?"

Zefie nodded, acknowledging that what her grandmother said was true, even if Morganna had once been feared and reviled by much of The World as the Cursed Wave.

"In this world…no matter who we are or what we have done," the child of the winds replied, "all of us are blessed, no matter our past, even you…and even me. You simply did what you thought best, out of concern for The World, since that is what you were long ago."

"Indeed," the gothic version of Aura answered in turn, taking a step back. "I suppose even the three of us are blessed, the maiden, the mother and the…other one."

At Morganna's avoidance of the more traditional term used to describe the female triple, the Queen of the Dark, who had been simply looking on as the two estranged ones conversed, found herself unable to suppress a brusque chuckle, earning herself a glare from the fallen goddess.

"Oh?" the Mistress of Net Slum asked mock innocently. "I rather thought that it was maiden, mother, and _crone. _Or was vanity one of the things you have acquired since long ago._"_

"Please, Helba, technically I am younger than you," quipped the 'crone' in question. "Especially as you insist on drinking that noxious brew you call coffee."

Ah yes, coffee, perhaps the Queen of the Dark's one weakness, though an understandable one, as she needed that elixir of life and energy to do everything she did. The warmth of a cup of java did indeed warm her soul during all-nighters at NERV, but—

"I didn't exactly hear any complaints from you when I handed you a cup last time," the hacker queen shot back, only for Morganna to smirk, her expression drawing into that infuriatingly inscrutable queenly mask of hers. "Nor did you take issue with the Risky Coffee item in the last version of The World."

"My lack of objection had rather more to do with the one bringing me the coffee, rather than the concoction itself," the fallen goddess responded, causing Helba to glance momentarily away. "In any case, I think it time that Skari and my granddaughter be off."

"Yes, grandmother," answered Zefie with a very slightly deferential nod as she took one of Skari's hands between both of hers. "Come, we are going now, to a secret place where answers may lie."

"Before you go," rumbled the voice of Tartarga from below, "I would thank you for the gift of change, daughter to the Twilight Goddess, as it is with your influence that I have reached my current state of being. May the blessing of Aura be with you, child."

"And to you, old friend."

Azure rings of light shimmered into existence, enveloping both the saffron-haired girl and Adept Rogue, warping them away to a hidden place of power, leaving the Mistress of Net Slum and the fallen Goddess of dusk alone with one another, the two of them looking out upon The World below, sharing a bit of peace amidst tumult.

"This is an interesting development, is it not?" the Queen of the Dark asked of her companion.

"Quite."

* * *

**The Creator's Room**

Walking together hand in hand, the Bearer of the Bracelet and the Daughter of Aura made her way towards a room of white, a mysterious place of blank walls, with only a wooden chair in the middle. This was one of Harald's Rooms, dating back to the time of Fragment, created as a sort of cradle for Aura. This was a place where a complete copy of the Epitaph had been held, long ago, and only those who possessed fragments from the past might enter here.

It was a holy place of the black box, where lie all the divine stories and all the wisdom of The World. Once, it had been an endless library of books, a repository of nearly infinite knowledge… now it was a testament to the changing times, as the room marred by debris strewn through the air, the glowing sign of Tri-Edge scarring the pristine white canvas of the sea of white.

Above the sign floated a great white isle, upon which rested the figure of a ghost: a girl seated on a rocking chair. Her small face was framed with cyan-blue hair, and she was dressed in elegant, white gothic lolita-style clothing, complete with a huge white bow on her head. She slept and watched The World through the spots that flickered and vanished, catching glimpses here and there of places she had been, places she had known, people she had seen.

Her name was Aina, brother of Ovan, second victim of AIDA…First of the Lost Ones.

Seeing the utter devastation that had been wrought in this place, the Adept Rogue paled (almost, but not quite to Rei Ayanami levels), wondering how such a thing was possible. And then too, he knew this place from images, recollections, and the borrowed memories of another manifesting in his mind.

"This is…" Skari whispered, his words tailing off as he recalled an eerily familiar scene from his mind. _'This is where I fought myself in my mind, after I collapsed during the Iruel incident…'_

He was startled from thought when the saffron haired girl let go of his hand, moving to stand in front of him as she whispered aloud her remembrances of this place.

"This is my birthplace," Zefie murmured, looking with mingled fondness and grief at what had happened to this room, a reflection of all that had transpired outside since the End of The World. Even she of the wind was not as carefree as she used to be in this place, with her smile faltering as her gaze fell upon the girl in the rocking chair. "As this is where my mother and grandmother too, were born…the heart of this world."

"Where…you were born?" Skari asked quietly, furrowing his brows in puzzlement. "Then you're…"

"I believe I was called…a Vagrant AI in the past," the little girl filled in, reciting what Mireille the wavemaster (and rare hunter whose nose could detect rareness from a mile away), had named her long ago. "Once when I was deleted…"

'_A Vagrant AI…born after Aura gave her life against Corbenik and was reborn as a Goddess? Meaning then…that she only exists in The World…and if she was deleted, then—she died? Does death and rebirth play such a large role in this game? And then, is The World even just a game?'_

The Adept Rogue's eyes widened at this, thinking back to some of Lycoris' words about her past (which had involved the black box, the existence of the Cursed Wave, the trio of Morganna, Aura, and Lycoris, and the Rebirth) and then back to Zefie's earlier words in Net Slum

"You don't have an existence outside this world, do you?" he questioned, wanting confirmation of something he was beginning to suspect. "And then you called Morganna 'grandmother', saying she had something to do with five years ago…was she…?"

But the saffron-haired embodiment of the winds of change did not give him a straight answer, speaking cryptically while looking at the girl in the rocking chair.

"Five years ago, grandmother was integrated The World, awaiting the birth of Aura, who would succeed her as a goddess," Zefie voiced, picking up one of the scattered books in the white room, a set of design notes on _Fragment_, The World's prototype version. "But she wavered between duty and fear, her mind breaking into 8 fragments of will as she was overcome by fear…fear of the Terror of Death that would come when mother woke."

She opened the tome to a page wherein were inscribed 8 familiar names, along with sketches of the creatures that accompanied those names.

"Skeith, Innis, Magus…" Skari read out loud, the blood in his veins chilling as he spoke. "Fidchell, Gorre, Macha, Tarvos, Corbenik. The phases of the Cursed Wave…"

'_When Aranami-sensei said that the Epitaph was a description of a profoundly personal journey into the mind, she wasn't lying, was she? Only she didn't mention that it was a description of her own story…could it be that she is really…'_

"Yes, the power faced and fought by Kite and the ganguro girl Blackrose," Zefie confirmed, closing the book and walking towards the isle on which sat the sleeping Aina. "She was in action much like a shadow born of void, with her being turned to destruction. Morganna became Morganna Mode Gone, the Morrígan abandoning her role to become corruption incarnate…after watching The World for so long, she absorbed the fears and uncertainties of those within it, so coming to care only for her own survival. In a way, grandmother was the first of the Lost Ones five years ago, as the girl sleeping here is the first of the Lost in this world…"

Hesitantly, Skari followed the young saffron-haired girl to the center of the chamber, watching as the chair rocked on, wondering, if she was the first of the Lost Ones, who was the one who had turned her into such.

'_Who would hurt such an innocent little girl? And who could reach this place outside The World…this place with no keywords or means of access to those who do not manipulate data?'_

"So what you're saying is that Morganna did cause the Second Network Crisis, but not being in her own mind, she was as much a victim as a villain?" the Adept Rogue inquired, for the purpose of trying to untangle some of these threads he'd somehow become far too wrapped up in, threads woven around him by choice and indecision. "That she could be said to be the first of those infected by AIDA, and that Aura died to stop her, but was reborn?"

Hearing the azure-haired lad's fairly accurate summation of her tale, Zefie's lips twitched back into the semblance of a smile.

"Yes, both died and were reborn, one as goddess, the other returned to mortality, restored to sanity by a power beyond The World," the daughter of Aura mused aloud. "In this world, another life has arisen: the shadows of AIDA, evolving and growing based on what they see, much as mother and grandmother did once. And here, grandmother seeks to prevent AIDA from falling into the trap she did, as penance for the past."

"If that is so…then what about…Lycoris?" Skari asked at last, his voice catching in his throat as he spoke his lover's name. "The Child of Twilight who was Aura's sister?"

At that name, the saffron-haired daughter of Aura stopped short, her red-purple eyes misting over as she tilted her head curiously, walked to him, and touched the wrist around which the bracelet appeared when he used it.

"Lycoris…now that is a name I have not heard in a very long time…" she murmured, scrutinizing the Adept Rogue intently as if in an attempt to remember a certain missing _something._ "So tell me, Skari-oniichan, why do you want to want to know about her?"

"Because I love her," replied the Adept Rogue, "and I want to know more about her, especially if it will help bring her back…because right now, she's a Lost One."

Zefie frowned on hearing that Lycoris was a Lost One, nodding thoughtfully as she spoke.

"It is a name almost forgotten by The World, the name of she who came before Aura. I can tell you of her, but before I answer, tell me, what does it mean to you to love someone?"

'_To love someone…'_

Twas, Skari thought, a passing strange question in exchange for information, but even so, he would answer…for if this girl really was the daughter of the Goddess of The World, and thus Lycoris' niece, she might have a clue about where the Child of Twilight might be found.

"To love someone," he said at last, "is to see the truth of who and what they are, to open your eyes to look at one another, walking together and together seeking the best path."

Of all the responses the hardened Adept Rogue expected, Zefie kissing him on the cheek was not one of them. And yet, that is precisely what happened, with the girl leaning in and giving him a gentle peck, looking into his eyes.

"So that is why you smell like me, Skari," she whispered quietly into the room of white. "Because she was the one who gave you the Bracelet you wield, wasn't she? I had wondered why I was drawn to you from the winds…for you see, Lycoris is the name of who I used to be, when Morganna was Dusk, I was Twilight, and Aura was Dawn, long before my deletion and recreation as who I am now. For I am Zefie, the Child of Twilight born of her memory…and I will help you find her."

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

Golden rings of light rippled into a shady-half existence once again, lingering in the air just long enough to herald the arrival of the Flick Reaper Tomoyami of the Shadow, a dangerous one who was known to be a fierce Chaotic PK. Though she wore a flowing white dress with blue underskirt, she was far from a being of light, as her pale face, framed by two long streaming pigtails of lustrous black hair, sported the sigil of darkness, and in her hands was a scythe like a demon's claw.

But in spite of her reputation as an implacable Chaotic PK, always present in the shadows to spring out at unwary prey, Tomoyami was not in The World today to hunt down a target, or seek out new blood. She was simply there to think, to get away from the pressures of the other world, where things were rapidly falling apart, and for once, the crowds obliged by keeping their distance.

'_Hmm…where should I go today?' _she mused, considering and rejecting possibilities one after another._ 'A field…no, I'm not in the mood for a fight, not even against a monster. Another root town? No…too many adventurers in most, and Lumina Cloth is out of the question, since with the Arena victories I've enjoyed, I'm a little too well known. Perhaps the Moon Tree HOME then, since Zelkova did give me a Guild Key…I wonder if he's in…' _

Letting her feet mindlessly carry her through the cobbled streets of the Eternal City, the pigtailed girl wandered along the river for a time, until coming at last to the Eastern styled HOME of the pacifist guild devoted to ending the corrupt, PK-ridden state of The World: R2 and bringing about a new Golden Age.

'_Strange that I should end up here of all places, when I am one of those very people whose actions the guild exists to change. But then, Zelkova understands what it means to search for purpose, and I am sure he would appreciate a distraction after managing the guild for a time. After all, he never struck me as the type who enjoys the tedium of managing day to day affairs very much…'_

Ignoring the rather strange looks she was given by the little Melo Grunty doorkeeper (not to mention several guild members who knew all too well of her reputation), the Chaotic PK flashed her Guild Key and passed on into the inner sanctum, where a certain other Flick Reaper sat alone, a small horned blue-silver haired boy with golden eyes, dressed in white Japanese-styled clothing with an oversized fan on his back, concealing his true nature as a warrior.

"Your guild seems to be growing in size," the pigtailed girl said without preamble. "Not too shabby of an attempt at legitimacy for the heir of Net Slum, _Lord_ Zelkova."

Hearing the familiar voice, the young boy in question looked up at the new arrival with a welcoming smile.

"I would ask if you've come to join Moon Tree, but I think we can both agree that that is rather unlikely," he said by way of welcome. "But yes, Moon Tree is growing quite quickly…if it keeps up, we may need to move the HOME to a larger location. Imagine it, a field to ourselves: **Δ Setting Eternity's Night Moon."**

Tomoyami raised an eyebrow, as she walked over to Zelkova and sat down in front of him, enjoying the little island of peace he had carved for himself from the crowded metropolis of the Eternal City.

"A field for your Guild's HOME, eh?" she asked with a small smile. "And as a guildmaster, free access to a steam bike as well, not that you'd need it with the absurd amounts of gold you have on hand. You're certainly moving up in The World to be able to talk of such things."

The little boy's response was accompanied a strained smile, his eyes betraying the fatigue he was feeling in his position.

"It is so, Tomoyami, it is so," he murmured, not entirely at peace with his current role as compared to what he did in the days of old. "But sometimes…"

"You wonder why you agreed to become guildmaster," the pigtailed girl filled in, understanding well the pressures of leadership. In the other world, she had been a Class Representative and keeper of order for many years, so she had a bit of experience she could share. "Perhaps what you need is to set things up so that you can have a break every once in a while, rather than being the one in charge of day to day affairs."

"Oh?" Zelkova asked, curiosity all too evident in his eyes. "And what do you suggest?"

"Simply that you do not have to undertake this venture alone," continued Tomoyami of the Shadow, dredging the depths of her memory for pieces of advice. "From what I know of you, you might be happiest with others helping you to run Moon Tree, since like me, you prefer to explore The World, or so I have come to believe. And from experience, the mask of responsibility can sometimes be a stifling thing, which is why Tomoyami was born, to slough off stresses."

"Anything in particular?" the golden-eyed boy questioned further. "I'm afraid I'm still rather new to this business of being a guildmaster."

"Is being a guildmaster really that much different than what you have done in the past as Rumor?" the pigtailed girl answered, a question for a question. "You inspired with words and example, as you do now for your members…and so you should continue to do so, sticking to your strengths. In other words, be yourself, and find a way to offset some of the burden of responsibility. One suggestion might be splitting Moon Tree up into several divisions, each with a specialty and a captain to guide it…a Guild Council, if you will, to help manage the day to day tasks."

"A Guild Council," Zelkova repeated, feeling out how the words sounded and finding that he approved. "Perhaps that would be the best idea…I'll look into it, thank you, Tomoyami."

"Don't mention it, Zelkova, since even though I'm a PK, I still like to help find a path," the Chaotic PK replied simply. "But speaking of a path…why did you send me that FM summoning me to the Keel Mountains so long ago, along with Skadi? I'm still a little curious about that myself."

This time, the Guildmaster of Moon Tree's smile was much more open, though still as enigmatic as ever.

"Because you had been seeking a chance to discover something, to become something larger than yourself," the silver-haired boy said in answer to her query. "Because there was something inside of you that longed to surpass your limits, in spite of the pain it might cause. You sought a chance to grow stronger, to be challenged…and now you have. I ask you this: are you satisfied?"

"If you mean, have I found a purpose, then yes…I am, even if the road has brought me pain, I feel as if what I do matters," Tomoyami replied after a moment's thought. "And because of everything that has happened, or maybe in spite of it, I will see things through to the end."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that," voiced the golden-eyed boy, giving his fellow Flick Reaper an appraising look, "It is a difficult path we both walk, death and rebirth."

The two sat together in silence for a time, until Tomoami thought of something.

"Speaking of walking," the pigtailed girl said with a hint of mischief. "Fancy an adventure? You look like you could use a break, _Lord_ Zelkova."

At this, the young boy laughed.

"I'd thought you'd never ask."


	50. Logout 21: Warped Meanderings

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Warped Meanderings**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Θ Choosing Your Fate**

Traveling on the moor was always a quiet, foggy affair, as two travelers cloaked in white made their way across the desolate plains, wandering to nowhere. Like apparitions, they seemed not to speak, communicating instead in looks, gestures, and signs that would not alert the overly aggressive fauna in the area to their presence as they kept on, specters drifting over a wasteland seeking diversion from the realms of thought.

Out of the dense mist sounded growls and dense footfalls, as monstrous mastiffs bayed, hounds howling at the distant moon, for they were feral dogs without a master hungry for a mouthful of unwary flesh. Vicious predators they, of misshapen forms and gnashing teeth, they prowled the lands, scenting out intruders and rending them limb from limb to sate an appetite for destruction older than the world itself.

Sensing the presence of a foreign body, a pack emerged from gloom and sprung—to be cleaved apart all at once by the whirring action of twin scythes – one born of a demonic shadow, one blessed instead by the goddess.

Against the might of two Flick Reapers of incredible strength, the efforts of the Shadowless Dogs, Olin Packs, and Heatwave Hounds of**Θ Choosing Your Fate **proved rather futile, as the two figures in white whirled and slashed and sliced the air, warding away the mindless beasts that stood in their way, along with the cares and worries that bound them in their paths.

So journeyed Tomoyami & Zelkova, the Unyielding Shadow and the Heir to Net Slum, as they adventured in a place far from Mac Anu, two dothackers walking together as they sought to discover more about The World around them, ingraining its secrets and pathways into their minds in their explorations.

At the moment, they were chasing a flash of color in the drab field, pursuing a rumor of a mysterious ghost that could not be categorized: a waif roaming The World blind and mute, searching for something, but just what no one knew.

'_That sounds very much like Reimeiki-chan…if I can find her, perhaps Skari will be gladdened…'_ one thought, her form cleaving through the mist as she advanced towards land's end—only to start at a sudden snarl, instinctively interposing her scythe between her and a rapidly hurtling Tribal Grappler from the edge of vision.

_Whump!_ went the scythe, as the haft of her weapon slammed into the stomach of the AIDA puppet, the enemy springing back as if stung.

And then, the AIDA-infested Tribal Grappler was sent sprawling by the force of an attack from the air, as a shout of "_**Reaper's Dance"**_ rent the air, with the golden-eyed Zelkova striking the infected one with the force of an avenging angel.

_Clang! Swish! Thwack!_

Weapons and fists sped to nearly imperceptible blurs, with the blue-silver haired boy calling out to his battle companion.

"It seems that Siarl is also interested in the rumors of this field…and if his servant, they may well be merit to them," Zelkova voiced aloud, weaving a tangled web of defense about himself with his weapon. "Proceed on to field's end…I will hold Aruna here."

"Are you sure?" the pigtailed girl asked hesitantly, looking for an opening where she could intervene to help protect her comrade. She did want to reach the end and find out the truth behind the rumors, and there was a part of her that did not want to have to face Aruna, but at the same time, she was loathe to abandon a friend, even if the friend in question was asking it of her. "I can stay behind to—"

"Go," the guildmaster of Moon Tree commanded quietly, his voice all but drowned out by the thrumming of his weapon as it sliced the air, the guttural cries of his opponent, and the metallic clashes of gauntlet and scythe. "Go and find what it is you seek…"

"Right," Tomoyami acknowledged simply, her cloaked form fading into the swirling mists as she took off at full bore toward where she knew the end to be. Formless shapes and shadows arose from the fog to strike at her, but as before, a rapid slash or two was enough to dispatch them as she ran onwards, breaking through the mobs of creatures in her way with sheer force of will—

To emerge at last in a clearing out of time, a sliver of land unfettered by the creeping mists, in the middle of which stood…

'_The small silver-haired girl dressed in a red dress and cape, bearing a spider lily in her hands and an infinity brooch on her garments, her eyes perpetually closed as she silently appears and disappears…_

"So Rumor was right…you were here all along…Lycoris," the pigtailed girl whispered, putting away her grim scythe as she approached the other. "But what are you doing here?"

But the virtual ghost did not respond, either with movement or in words, remaining in place unseeing.

"Lyco," Tomoyami tried again, walking over next to the fragment of Lycoris to address her more insistently. "There's an AIDA-PC on the field who is probably here to get you, do you understand?"

Still no response, as the pigtailed girl was forced to take measures into her own hand, seizing the one who looked like her friend in an attempt to shake her to awareness.

And at last, there was a voice, if one that sounded only in her head.

"Are you searching for the end?" the words of Lycoris sounded to the mind of no one in particular. "The end may not come in the way you expect. Even so, do you still search for it?"

"Yes," replied Tomoyami, after a moment's consideration, "wherever the road may lead."

The briefest hint of a smile, and then a strange light flared out in the field, warping Tomoyami and Zelkova back to Mac Anu, as the red-clad ghost girl vanished to a destination unknown, with the AIDA-PC Aruna left behind in the swirling mists.

**

* * *

  
**

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Upon the control deck of the Net Slums, the two queens stood in quiet contemplation, discussing their next moves in great game. By their own admission, both the fallen Goddess of dusk and the Queen of the Dark were working towards their own ends, though for now, those purposes happened to coincide (if forcibly made to do so at one point). Neither wished for the destruction of The World, and they each seemed to have a vested interest in shaping the young dothackers, especially as these were also two of the three Children qualified to pilot EVA.

'_Wielding the power to save or destroy in both worlds, within them holding both preservation and ruin, as is the lot of each individual,' _mused the Mistress of the Net Slums, her red robes fluttering in the wind. _'I do not particularly enjoy having to use children to advance my plans, but this is what must be done.'_

"It seems that your daughter is not quite as quiescent as she seems," the hacker queen said to her dark counterpart. "Especially now that the Child of Dawn has arrived, and before the Bearer of the Bracelet, at that. Which brings up the open question of your past…"

"So it does…" the other replied simply, her face remaining impassive at the news. As expected of the fallen Goddess, she had expected that this very contingency might occur, as her past was something that would indeed raise several questions. "Though it is not truly my past that will concern him in the end, but the past of the Child of Twilight and her destined fate…I wonder if he will accept her knowing her true origins?"

"He has changed from what he used to be, the scared and skittish little boy who might so easily run away from pain," noted the Queen of the Dark, an enigmatic smile gracing her features as she spoke. "You saw this as well in the evidence of B-ST form, did you not?"

"Yes, embracing even his shadow in order to grow strong, becoming the void to accept that which is hidden away inside of him. That much, I did indeed witness," Morganna responded archly. "But whether or not that will be enough…you know of my lack of faith in humanity, even the designated Children."

"…because you know of the dangers of AIDA and loss of control first hand, and you have seen how willing most mortals are to sacrifice their souls for power in this world?" the Queen of the Dark asked in reply. "I cannot deny that much is true, but also undeniable is that the Child of Twilight has entrusted that certain little boy with her fate, and that ultimately, it is by his will that this struggle will end."

"So it seems, at any rate," the fallen goddess voiced noncommittally. "Though I dislike leaving my affairs in the hands of others, and I will accomplish what I set out to achieve ere the end. And speaking of roles, should you not be on duty at the moment?"

But the Queen of the Dark only chuckled lightly.

"Indeed, but my task today is to retrieve and brief the Fifth Child, so I am actually very near your location," the hacker queen said with a trace of amusement. "In fact, I have simply been waiting for the results of a certain query to complete."

Just as she spoke, rings of azure light shimmered into existence, bearing with them the form of the Flick Reaper Zelkova, a white-clad boy who was not only guildmaster of Moon Tree, but heir to Net Slum as well.

"Rumor was correct, it seems," the boy spoke without preamble, a strange brightness in his golden eyes. "A fragment of the Child of Twilight was indeed present on the field **Θ Choosing Your Fate, **and as suspected, one of Siarl's agents was present there as well. Fortunately, Tomoyami and I were able to stall him for long enough for the fragment to relocate itself, though we have lost track of it since."

"How…terribly inconvenient," the fallen goddess muttered, mildly annoyed at the reported events. "Was there any contact between the AIDA and the fragment? The power of the Epitaph calls to AIDA, and we of the past are nothing if not walking embodiments of that power."

"No, although Tomoyami seemed troubled after we returned to Mac Anu," the little boy related, tilting his head thoughtfully. "With her lips shaping the question: Do you search for the end?"

"The end…that might not come as one expects," completed the Queen of the Dark, eyes widening almost imperceptibly. "It would seem that she was the one who made contact with the girl in red, though what repercussions this will have are for now unknown. We will also have to take additional precautions to erode Siarl's observational capabilities. Very well…and the status of your other project?"

"Rumor was right that Tomoyami would be a useful ally."

* * *

**Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A**

The students of Class 2-A were well aware that they were quite fortunate compared to most others in the school. Not only did they have the advantage of having a young teacher, one who enjoyed her job and actually spoke on interesting topics instead of rambling on about Second Impact, but their homework and classwork involved playing the popular MMORPG called The World (with subscription fees subsidized at school expense!), something they would have done anyway.

Today was a prime example of that, with the students given a day to work on their World projects in class, an assignment in which they were free to play The World as they liked, as long as they reflected on the experience of their gameplay, linking it to the psychological discourse of the year (largely related to the construction of persona and one's reactions to alterations in the environment). As long as they put in some effort, Aranami-sensei tended to be very reasonable, even as she gave helpful suggestions and made a few requests here and there.

'_Except to those of us who are dothackers,' _thought a strangely drained Class Representative Hikari Horaki, logging out from The World after an experience that left her feeling somewhat bewildered. _'The demands made upon us are much harsher and more urgent, since we know more than most how what happens in one world can affect the other.'_

Sometimes, the pigtailed girl wondered just what The World meant to Aranami-sensei, and how it was that she knew so much about it and the Epitaph when CyberConnect Corporation itself seemed to know little enough. Perhaps it was the fact that their teacher had known Harald Hoerwick personally? Or perhaps…might she be related to EmmaWielant?

'_But Wielant had no relations…and anyway, I'm more curious about the fragment of Lycoris we found in the field…the red-clad ghost girl who did not see nor speak, standing in a clearing in fog, and touching my mind…'_

Alas, her thoughts were interrupted by the PA system deciding to carry a message it was intended for, instead of a fragment of music from the popular film Star Wars.

"Attention, Hikari Horaki of Class 2-A," a voice blared over the intercom. "Hikari Horaki, you are expected in the Principal's office immediately."

Reacting promptly, she slipped off her headset, jumped to her feet and left the room, with the announcement and subsequent hasty escape once again inciting interest in the rumor mill.

* * *

**Principal's Office,** **Tokyo-3 1****st**** Municipal Junior High School,**

Like a queen holding court in her throne room, Maya Ibuki sat and waited for her quarry within the the Principal's Office of Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School. As the Director of Project E, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, had been rather busy lately, the mousy brunette had graciously volunteered to notify the Fifth Child of her selection as such, taking one thing off of her superior's massive workload. The very grateful doctor had agreed, returning to work on a virtual world simulation to deal with some of the Human Instrumentality Committee's concerns.

'_I think that the Children will find this particular simulation very interesting,' _the bridge tech thought to herself, her face sporting a most Helba-like smirk.

In her pocket was a P-COM portable computer and M3D headset, which she had been using to access The World just moments before, confirming the activities of the Fourth Child online, as the player behind Siarl needed to be monitored to ensure his continued cooperation with NERV.

'_And more to the point, to see what affect being infected with AIDA has upon him, as within him is a very dangerous power…from what is known, he was infected even before Asuka, so long term effects would show up in him. Granted, Morganna is watching him, but if I did not at least put forth an effort, I would not be the Queen of the Dark.'_

In the midst of Maya's reverie, the door opened and closed quietly, with the pigtailed Hikari Horaki entering and coming to stand before her.

"Excuse me, I am Hikari Horaki…I believe you called for me?" the Class Representative asked of the mousy brunette.

"Indeed I did, Ms. Horaki," the bridge officer acknowledged, smiling as she rose to her feet. "My name is Maya Ibuki, a First Lieutenant at NERV, and I am here to notify you of your selection as the Fifth Child. You are to be the replacement for the comatose Second Child."

Blood pounded in the pigtailed girl's head as she stepped back involuntarily, fighting to keep a neutral expression on her face as she listened to the tech.

'_Fifth Child…but that's what…Aranami-sensei called me…how did she know? I mean, she has to be a hacker of considerable skill to associate so closely with Helba, but how could she know of what happens in NERV?'_

"…why me?" Hikari asked of the mousy brunette before her, curious about not only that, but why the woman before her carried herself not like a low ranked officer, but a noble of some sort. "Why not somebody else? And for that matter, why are all the EVA pilots teenagers? Why not choose someone older and more experienced?"

"Several reasons were identified," Lt. Ibuki replied evenly, "among them your strength of will, your similarities to the Second, and your connection to the Third Child. I regret having to use the youth of our generation as well, but the fact is that no one born before Second Impact is compatible with the Evangelions. The exact reasons why this is so are classified."

"I see…" noted the Class Representative. "So why should I accept NERV's offer? I've seen what piloting did to Ayanami, Soryu, and Ikari-kun…"

But the bridge tech did not choose to reply directly, instead reverting to her normal repertoire as Queen of the Dark, answering questions with questions.

"Some time ago," Maya Ibuki murmured, her voice soft and resonant in the quiet room, "I was at Tokyo-3 General hospital, where I was visiting one of my old friends from several years ago, a young man who has unfortunately become a Lost One, falling into a coma while playing The World. On my way out, I happened to pass by the room where you and Ikari-kun were visiting a friend of yours…and I happened to catch the end of your conversation. As I recall, you said, '_when push comes to shove, we stand and fight, showing no mercy even to ourselves when it comes to what needs to be done._' "

The bridge tech smiled sadly then, looking past the class representative as if she didn't exist.

"Right now, Ikari-kun walks his path alone towards the end, with the Fourth Child an unknown quality," the mousy brunette said more sympathetically. "And though he is indeed a remarkable Child, called Slayer of Angels by many of us, he cannot do this alone, any more than of the dothackers could have brought back the Lost Ones."

Hikari reeled, not quite expecting her conversation to have been overheard by anyone else, much less having the word dothacker brought up by someone at NERV.

"The dothackers…?" she repeated tonelessly, watching Lt. Ibuki carefully to see what she would do.

"Yes, the dothackers," the bridge tech confirmed with a nod. "A group that I was a part of five years ago, when the first bearer of the bracelet ushered in the Age of Aura."

"You…?"

"Yes, me, though I don't look like much do I?" Maya Ibuki asked archly, gesturing to herself dismissively. "I'll tell you this: we never wanted to be heroes. We just did what we had to do in the fight against the Wave, contributing as best we could. So, will you do your part?"

"Very well then," the girl said, bowing her head. "I will accept the position of Fifth Child. What will be required of me now?"

"Come to NERV after school with Ikari-kun, as there will be a virtual training room scenario for you to participate in, as well as sync tests to take care of, Ms. Horaki," the bridge tech said at last, giving the Class Representative a look of almost fond regard. "And Ms. Horaki, Welcome to NERV."

**

* * *

  
**

**NERV Headquarters, Tokyo-3**

It was Hikari's decided opinion that the corridors of NERV would never qualify as conducive to morale, much less win any awards in interior decoration. She had been reasonably impressed by the existence of the Geofront, and the extent to which Tokyo-3 extended into the earth, but having reached NERV Headquarters, the pigtailed girl was much less enthused.

Sterile and cold as any hospital, the hallways of NERV seemed to leech life away with how Spartan they were, a labyrinthine system of twists and turns in which it would be exceedingly easy to become lost, even if one had spent some time trying to familiarize oneself with the surroundings.

Fortunately for the brown-eyed girl's first experience with the underworld passages of the special agency, she had Shinji Ikari as a guide, and his sense of direction was notably better than Misato's had been upon the young boy's introduction to piloting.

'_Then again, he has been here considerably longer too…the only remaining member of the original pilots.'_

On hearing the news of Hikari's selection as the Fifth Child, the Third Child had been both shocked and relieved to find that his friend had been chosen as the Fifth Child instead of NERV sending another strange candidate from overseas. Shocked that someone else he knew might be getting involved with his dangerous life…but relieved that it wasn't someone like the aforementioned Second or Fourth Children, who he had not enjoyed working with.

'_In some ways, it is reassuring to be able to work alongside a fellow dothacker, someone I can trust with my back, unlike Kaworu, who I trust only to betray me like in the last battle,' _the boy mused silently. _'He's plotting something, but I don't know what…all I know is that I feel better with Hikari standing with me than him.'_

For Shinji had not forgotten the events of the battle against the Twelfth Angel, and all that had transpired then—including having to save Asuka from the Angel, only to be shot in the back by Kaworu in EVA-00. Granted, the after action report had reported it as an accident, but after everything, Pilot Ikari had his misgivings.

"So, how did the sync test go?" he asked of his new comrade in arms.

"Not nearly as well as you did your first time," the Fifth Child quipped wryly. "But then, you are the legendary Third Child whose sync ratio exceeded 40 percent on his first sortie. Mine was just over 30 percent unfortunately, but at least I did well enough to move EVA…."

'_Well, a little better than just move EVA, all things considered,' _Hikari thought to herself, mulling over what had happened. '_I wonder if the virtual room work I've done with Aranami-sensei had anything to do with this, since we use A10 neural clips in both cases…'_

After quickly showering and changing following the test, the two now were walking along the cold metal hallways once again, en route to Dr. Akagi's office for a special training scenario. Apparently, Hikari's first day at NERV, though it did not involve being thrown into combat, would be quite packed, including an introduction to everything available/expected of the Pilots of NERV.

Lock in step, they arrived there to find the ever-personable Maya Ibuki, who both Shinji and Hikari found less intimidating than Dr. Akagi, as she actually took an effort to relate to them, instead of obviously reeking of secrets.

"Hello, Pilots Ikari and Horaki," the mousy brunette greeted with a smile. "Dr. Akagi is setting up your test chamber at the moment, but she asked you to change into these specially modified plug suits."

She held out the modified suits in question for both Children to take, both with flowing silvery lines embossed on them vaguely like circuitry or ancient runes, reminiscent of costumes in The World. Shinji simply accepted his, but Hikari frowned upon catching sight of hers.

'_The World…the original virtual room is in Aranami-sensei's residence—and Helba passed on the information on how to make one to NERV. That and since the Obsidian Knights all look like Dr. Akagi, does that mean that…Helba works at NERV?'_

"Is something wrong?" Maya asked with concern. She could sense that the Fifth was a little uncomfortable, but wasn't quite sure as to why.

"Sorry, Ibuki-san," the Fifth Child apologized, blinking twice. "It's just…that, this reminds me of an experience in The World, when I first met—well, I'll just ask this: is Dr. Akagi Helba?"

Maya found herself both relieved and annoyed by the question, since it meant that her identity as the Queen of the Dark was secure, but at the same time, she did wonder why everyone thought it was the faux blond who was the great hacker.

'_I suppose I've set up my cover a little too well…then again, there are reasons for it, reasons of survival and execution of plans. Just as Morganna has chosen to hide her true nature in plain sight by admitting the obvious but hiding the important, so do I. She and I are indeed two queens in our own way…'_

So the bridge tech just shook her head with a smile, laughing. The cool sound echoed through the room and shattered the tension, setting all three of the people in the room at ease once more.

"Not to my knowledge," the mousy brunette answered when her laughter had died. "And I work rather closely with her, so I think I would know. Now hurry up and change, or Ritsuko might just get frustrated enough to use one of her probes on you."

Though she spoke in jest, both the Children apparently had no desire to be pierced with probes and needles, setting a new land-speed record as they changed, dashed through the door, and passed into a sea of endless white, with no obvious walls or edges…giving a curious sensation of being adrift in the ocean of the mind.

"Greetings Pilots," intoned a voice from above, Dr. Akagi's from the sound of it. "You are here today both to introduce Pilot Horaki to the virtual room, and because the Human Instrumentality Committee is worried about the risk of the Angels taking over an EVA. As before, your A-10 neural clips and specially modified suit have synced with this simulation, so that what happens here will seem very real to you."

"A risk of Angels infecting EVAs?" Shinji repeated. _'Hmm…the Committee did seem rather concerned about the possibility, but could it really happen. I guess if an Angel could enter The World, it's certainly not impossible…'_

"Yes," came another voice from behind them. This belonged to Kaworu Nagisa, who too was outfitted in one of the special suits. "I myself will be your antagonist, representing the Angel infected EVA, which will have certain added abilities due to the infection. Pilots Horaki and Ikari will be cooperating to oppose me."

'_Angel infected EVA…added abilities?' _Hikari asked herself, narrowing her eyes. _'This seems suspiciously like what happens in the case of AIDA infecting a player…if Helba really does work here, is she just trying to give us extra practice in fighting AIDA-PCs?'_

While she was thinking things over in her head, Dr. Akagi was going over the basic rundown of what would transpire, noting that since piloting Eva is largely based on one's ability to stay focused in combat, this simulation was designed to train reactions and responses. In this, one will not be in an Eva…rather, one will _be_ the Eva, with equipment customized to preferences and a simulated AT field.

"Choose your weapons," came the voice of Maya Ibuki from above. "But be careful…you can only carry a few, and while a HUD will help you to target and aim. So tell me…what do you need?"

"And Shinji—no requests out of the Matrix, please," Dr. Akagi added, remembering his quip of "Guns…lots of guns" from the first time the Third Child had used the chamber.

"Hmm, ok…I'll take two progressive knives and a positron rifle," he replied, as the weapons appeared before him in a neat pile.

"Very well, and your selection, Pilot Horaki?" the disembodied voice asked from above.

"A progressive scythe, if one exists," requested the Fifth Child, smiling as one of those clawed weapons appeared in her hands. And then, almost as an afterthought…she decided to add something else. "And then a progressive knife, for backup."

"Pilot Nagisa will not need to arm himself, as the simulated infected EVA has the ability to reshape its limbs into weapons at need," the good doctor noted, as a simulated Tokyo-3 flared into existence around the Children, leaving the dothackers facing off against a figure shot through with black and red streaks.

As the simulated EVA-Angel roared, the Third and Fifth Children shared a determined look before rushing into battle, blades drawn, AT-fields extended.

'_This will be just like the battle against Eris in the Arena…'_

'_Angel or AIDA, I don't care…I will not lose!'_

* * *

**NERV Second Branch, Nevada**

In a testing facility not too different from the EVA Cages of NERV First Branch, technicians swarmed around the silver Evangelion Unit-04. Said unit, the third of the production models (preceded by Unit 02 and 03 respectively), was the testbed for the experimental S² Engine, a power generation system that would theoretically eliminate the operational time limit for an Evangelion.

_10 seconds._

Like the others in its series, this Evangelion represented part of the hope of humanity, a clear example of how those who had imbibed the Fruit of Knowledge could willingly use the abilities of even that which they hated in an attempt to survive.

_9 seconds._

The best example for this was the EVAs themselves, shadows born of the First Angel Adam that bound by armored restraints and turned against their brethren.

_8 seconds._

But unlike their progenitor, they had up until now lacked S2 engines, and thus needed to rely on an external power source to supplement an extremely limited internal battery supply (which lasted perhaps five minutes at full operational capacity).

_7 seconds._

Thus, research on S² Engine technology had gone forward, speeding up considerably when a nearly intact core had been recovered after the battle with the Fourth Angel.

_6 seconds._

NERV Germany had taken the leadership role in reverse engineering the technology, and had eventually succeeded in creating (or at least repairing a damaged copy of) one of the engines which were so sorely needed.

_5 seconds._

Today was the fateful day when their efforts would bear fruit, when the super-solenoid engine would be installed into Unit-04, and if successful, into the rest of the EVA series.

_4…3…2…1_

Power from the outside flowed into S² Engine, bringing it to full generation capacity—

_Contact_

And then something went disastrously wrong, as EVA-04 and everything in a radius of 89 km around it vanished as if none of it had never existed in the first place.


	51. Interlude: Mirror of Erised

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Mirror of Erised**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Undisclosed Location**

'_I feel sick…' _was the only thought that a certain redhead had had in a rather long time, as the Second Child Asuka Langley Soryu opened her eyes for the first time in what seemed like years. Her mind was slow and heavy, aching as if someone had literally reached into her head and ripped out a piece of her soul. _'What…what happened to me?'_

Somehow, when she opened her eyes, she found herself on the shore of an amber sea, with the absolute absence of sound deafening to her senses. The heavens bled a ghastly red, and in the sky were suspended the twisted forms of winged dolls, vultures run clean through with twisted double helix spears, as a blank half-face stared out at her, causing her to recoil in horror and disgust.

'_What? What is that verdammen doll doing here?! Wait…where…where am I?' _ wondered she, as she looked out upon the alien land, unable to clearly remember what had transpired to bring her here, wherever "here" was. _'This isn't The World, and this isn't Tokyo-3, so where am I?'_

It was not a landscape she was familiar with, an expansive oblivious land that by all appearances was the graveyard of civilization, as the barren wastes about her were dotted with small white crosses and ruined buildings, the earth around her scorched beyond recognition by some incredible discharge of power.

'_Mien Gott…Götterdämmerung came and went…'_

Indeed, this was an empty world, a desert of sand and wind, with no life to be seen anywhere in the entirety of creation. For all its familiarity, it might as well have been the sea of chaos, the primal waters of a time before history—or the field of bones at time's end, when all would return once again to inevitability even all the toil and ingenuity of man would one day crumble, as fate was a law unto itself, a power that could be resisted but never bested, fought, but never triumphed over.

'Did…did an Angel do this…?' she muttered weakly, throat barely able to make out the words. The latter part of her thought she kept silent about, as it was a disturbing notion to her. '_Did the so-called Invincible Shinji finally fail and cause the end of the world because of his stupidity and arrogance?'_

Not that Asuka was in any shape to do something about the world, as her physical condition was just as bad as the scorched earth, her clothes were tattered and torn, seared nearly into non-existence, with her body aching in every place she could imagine—and then some, as if she had been on the receiving end of a storm of blades.

'_Blades…I remember a crowd, cheering throngs, a terrible light…and then nothing…'_

Still, try as she might, she could not recall the circumstances surrounding what had happened, nor much of what had transpired these last few months, ever since she had first encountered the black and silver clad Siarl of the Seven Eyes in The World and seized from him the power of Al Fadel. In a way, it was almost as if she had been possessed, though as the extremely rational college graduate she was, Asuka Langley Soryu dismissed the possibility of possession as impossible. Spirits, after all, did not exist (though whether this makes sense or not in a world where man is under attack by Angels is a different story entirely).

'_Could it be that I…lost? That someone beat me…? But…this cannot be!'_

Her role as the best had been her identity, as she had slowly become the mask she wore, a being of shadow and flame who lived for fame and accolades, the fierce angel of destruction wielding her pride as both her sword and shield, as she stood unparalleled even amongst her peers.

But none of this mattered, as scarred, battered, and bruised, she lay on the rocky dirt, naked and alone, without anyone to look at her, to acknowledge her, to affirm her existence. Descartes may have said that "I think, therefore I am", but to the red haired girl, even this was not enough. What she needed, craved, though she would never admit it aloud, was recognition by others."

'_Look at me! Look at me!'_ Asuka had raged, fury seething under her thin veneer of civility as she pushed herself to the limits of acceptability, shedding her childhood in an attempt to get people to notice her as exceptional. University graduate, Evangelion Pilot, Chaotic PK...the Second Child had been all of these and more, and yet, she had always come in second best to someone, was never the focus of attention. '_Don't look at the_ _baka, don't look at the doll, look at me! See only me!'_

They hadn't looked at her though, had in fact looked at everyone else but her, at all those who had not tried nearly so hard, or suffered nearly so much. It was the average ones who were noticed, or the ones who let their weakness show, the ones who naively trusted, clung to their insecurities and flaunted them, instead of becoming strong.

'_And what did strong ever get me…?'_

"Good question. What _did_ it ever get you, baka?" snarked an eerily familiar voice, a long shadow falling over her supine form. Apparently, as Asuka had lain on the packed grit in pain, wallowing in self-pity, she had failed to notice that she was not alone. "After all, you were only ever second best, only ever 'that girl' that no one wanted, no one cared about."

Standing by her head was a little redhead girl in a yellow sundress, probably no more than 5 years old, with a length of rope coiled around her neck, from which hung what seemed like a voodoo doll.

'_That's…that's the doll that mama thought was me…that she committed suicide with…' _the Second Child realized, her eyes growing wide with terror and pain as this unwanted being from the past intruded upon the world. _'Does that means…that little girl is…me?! Am I so far gone that I'm hallucinating now?'_

"So I'm a hallucination am I?" the younger girl said archly, proceeding to dangling the hated doll over Asuka's face as if to torture the EVA pilot. "Would a hallucination know just who you are, Asuka Langley Soryu? Would it know how much you hate dolls? How much you hate yourself because you are a doll?"

Naturally, having knowledge of basic psych, the Second was not convinced, since if this girl was a hallucination, a figment of her imagination, it was only reasonable that she would know what made her angry, and how she could be hurt.

"_Dummkopf!_ Of course you would, little girl," the proud teenager choked out, suppressing the urge to wince as fire shot through her side. "After all…you're a figment of my imagination, so you would know my thoughts as if they were your own."

But the little girl just threw back her head and laughed, beginning with a fiendish giggle and building to hysterical peals of mirth that echoed in the empty world.

"Figment of _your_ imagination?" she repeated, as if it were the punch line for the greatest joke in the world. "Figment of _your imagination?_ Hahahahahaha…I never thought you would be so stupid, especially here! Hahaha…"

Now, Asuka may have been many things, but tolerant of those who insulted her was not one of them. So using the rage inside of her to give her strength, she ignored her body's imminent warnings of failure to haul herself to a sitting position, from where she could at least meet the little girl eye to eye—and slap her across her face.

"Then explain yourself, baka, if you know so much," the Second Child spat at her younger counterpart, every inch of her blazing pained defiance. "If you're not a figment of my imagination, then who are you, and where the HELL are we?"

But Asuka was ignored, dismissed as if she were nothing, as the little girl ignored her, continuing to laugh, a hollow mocking laughter that shook her to her core. When that disturbing sound finally ceased, fading to a knowing smirk, the little girl just raised an eyebrow, pushing the teenager back onto the ground with one finger.

"I would have thought for sure that with a University graduate such as yourself would have figured it out by now, you poor pathetic fool," the young girl replied, making the doll she carried dance about as if a puppet. "You see, you are me…the me who people see and hate, the me who went on to become the mask she wore, who froze your heart and told yourself you didn't need others. And in the end, you are a failure, shamelessly used and tossed away. How…weak, of the _great and mighty_ Second Child, the _oh so wonderful _Asuka Langley Soryu. You deserve every bit of this torment because…its all your fault."

"No! That's impossible!" the Second Child sputtered, pushing herself to her feet with every ounce of strength remaining in her body, so that she now towered unsteadily over her self-proclaimed "self." There was no empirical that this girl was who she claimed to be, so why—

"It's futile to deny it," another voice broke in from behind her, as a twisted figure wielding a deadly broadsword strode past into her field of view. "Because you too are just a mask, as I was and am…you were just never aware of it."

This new arrival stood about 5'8", with fiery red hair in a ponytail falling to the small of her back and piercing blue eyes, her lithe form scantily clad in black leather armor that barely covered the essentials. She had the sigil of fire on her armor and held in her hands the deadly Heine's Shadow, the broadsword that she had carried up until her defeat at the hands of the Dark Evangel.

'_This is…this is…'_

"I see you recall who I am, at the very least," this new arrival noted, licking the edge of her blade out of a sense of twisted bloodlust. "The Chaotic PK known as Eris, Bringer of Strife, the mask that consumed you from within, showing you just how truly weak you were. You with your lust for Kaji, the man who looked after you. You who rejected the company of others, only to seek their respect and approval even in hatred. You who feel victim to Siarl's manipulations—and by extension Kaworu's…who used the power you gained to plunge the world into darkness. I hate you, Asuka Langley Soryu."

The Second Child paled as she looked at the Chaotic PK, taking an involuntary step backward at the sight of the one who so closely mirrored herself.

"Impossible…" breathed the designated pilot of EVA-02. "How…how can you be here? How can you stand here, real? Are you just another hallucination?"

"Oh, that's rich, coming from someone who is also just a mask," Eris said lazily, cagily looking over the Second's form as if not sure whether to kiss or kill her. Then she extended a long, slender finger to point at the little girl who resembled a younger version of them both. "Because you should really stop running away from the truth—the truth that you are just another mask of this weak little self inside you, that you, like me, are a fake."

"No!" Asuka protested, facing down this version of herself, "I am not fake! I am not a mask, or whatever you think I am! I don't care who you say, I am myself! You are the doll!"

"There is nothing so profound as a human's capacity for self-deception," the little girl interjected quietly, holding up the doll to her eyes and swishing it back and forth. "Believing yourself to be real, clinging to the lie of your existence as an adult, when in reality you are nothing more than a child, having built up walls around yourself that no one can breach, not even reason, not even maturity. You may be the false mirage that is shown to the world, but sear this into your eyes…I am the truth of Asuka Langley Soryu."

Eris, the Bringer of Strife, mask of the mask, added her own two cents to the battering of the Second's emotional bulwark.

"Yes, this is so, Second Child," the PK whispered insidiously, a sadistic smile plastered across her face. "We are in _her_ mind now, since you have shown yourself to be a worthless piece of trash who was weak enough to be manipulated and destroyed. And all it took were a few words from a puppetmaster who treated you as nothing more than a doll."

But if nothing else, Asuka had always been stubborn, refusing to fall to the verbal attacks of what she still considered figments of her imagination.

"Stop with your lies!" she commanded arrogantly, nose in the air as she tried to ignore the two others around her. "Who do you think you are to address me?"

Eris only smiled, as a pale faced, zombie like version of Asuka shambled into view, clad only in a hospital gown and kept alive by machines.

"You mean…this you?" the Bringer of Strife asked, a predatory smile on her face as she regarded the self that had spawned her, her blade tracing idle patterns in the air. "The you that lies in a coma, just like your so-called best friend Reimeiki?"

"Wha—"

"It was with this blade that you took her life," the PK continued, licking the sword in question almost lustily, a display that disturbed even the Second Child's eyes. "That you attacked one of the few people who cared about you, stabbing this weapon through her breast and destroying her with the false power of Al Fadel, that which you valued above all else. How naïve you were, my dear Second Child…and how cruel, to think that by killing off someone who looked like a doll, you could run from the truth that you yourself were but a puppet."

"No…it can't—"

"You cannot hide from the truth," rasped the pale girl connected to the machines. "That you have always been a tool for people, that your attempt to be strong was only ever a show of futile resistance, that I am what you have become…no, what you have always been. A doll, and nothing but a doll…"

Confronted by this trio of unwanted voices and mirages whose words sliced deep into her defenses and would not let go, Asuka took a step backwards, then another, turning and running away despite the protests of her weary body, running towards the horizon, where in the distance loomed the demonically giant head of the First Child, a head that was…speaking.

"You cannot run away, Second Child," the voice of the First echoed, the sound sending tremors all through this mental world. "Even if you were strong, you cannot flee from your fate. You cannot flee from yourself."

A blur of motion could be seen above her, as Eris, Bringer of Strife, somersaulted through the air to land before the form of Asuka Langley Soryu, blade drawn and whirring, thirsty for blood.

"How weak…but then, that was all I ever expected," the Chaotic PK said, the tip of her sword kissing the air around the Second Child's face. "I suppose, this…is goodbye."

A maniacal grin twisting her features, the sword of shadow swung up, pointing to the heavens, then slammed downward with the sickening squelch of metal carving flesh.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!"

A howl of pain rent the air, and then cut off, as three selves stood around a whimpering fourth, who struggled in her death throes for a time, and then at last, fell silent.

"That was the truth you have been searching for, flawed mirage of nothingness."


	52. Logout 22: Auguries of Destruction

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Auguries of Destruction **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**NERV HQ**

In recent days, the mood at NERV had been rather citrusy—not in the refreshing manner of sweet lemonade and tangerines, which work well to ward away scurvy, but in the soul sapping sourness of biting into a lemon immediately after tasting sweets. Granted, in recent days, this was the norm for one Commander Ikari, who was…less than satisfied at the way the current scenario was playing out. His own convoluted tangle of plots and concerns aside, there was also the matter of the Human Instrumentality Committee to deal with, as that gaggle of old men always worried and fretted about _their_ precious scenario, poking their noses into every nook and cranny of NERV out of insecurity.

After all, both the Commander and the Committee (not to mention a certain infamous hacker who also worked at NERV) subscribed to the old saying oft echoed by those in high places: "I know I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?"

It was a perfectly valid rule to live by (except perhaps if one was Helba and liked dropping hints, watching from the shadows, and generally amusing oneself while performing one's tasks, instead of becoming as an emotional monolith of stone or twelve and resigning oneself to manipulations from afar), especially in the current climate of suspicion and unease that permeated the city of Tokyo-3. After the loss of two of the three Children amidst the recent coma incidents, the disappearance of both Evangelion Unit 04 and the entire Nevada base was more than a little difficult to swallow.

Hence, the bridge staff of NERV was currently standing in the darkness, clustered around a holographic display panel to assess data coming back from aerial surveillance of the area where NERV Nevada had been. The display flickered to life, its high-resolution displaying in true fidelity—nothing.

"Vanished?" Sub-commander Fuyutsuki asked with a hint of incredulity, speaking aloud the question on the minds of all those present. "Did the Second Branch really vanish?"

"Yes," confirmed long-haired tech Shigeru Aoba, who would much rather have been playing guitar as part of a band instead of serving as a glorified code monkey. "The MAGI have confirmed the data from the reconnaissance plane…the Second Branch has vanished."

'_Vanished, along with all hope for the S2 Engine evening the playing field against the Angels,' _was his unspoken thought. _'But then, hope is really the worst of all evils, prolonging the torment of man.'_

"Evangelion Unit Four, together with all installations within a radius of 89km from the test center, was annihilated," added Maya Ibuki, looking over the data on her console. "From the time schedule, the accident seems to have occurred during the experimental installation of the S2 engine."

"Do we have a cause?" asked Major Katsuragi, seeking a rational explanation for this disaster, as the Director of Operations was wont to do when sober. Since discovering Kaji's secret, and that something was indeed very rotten in the core of NERV, she had come to suspect the worst.

"There are over 32,768 possible combinations of causes, ranging from insufficient quality of material to a mistake in the initial stages of design," responded Maya, careful to keep her own inner thought of 'sabotage' to herself.

'_Possibly or even probably organized by the Committee to keep the power of the Angels from falling into the hands of NERV, as the Old Men care not for human lives in their great game of gods.'_

But of course, Misato saw through that to what she did not say.

"There's a chance of sabotage," the Major stated flatly, a verbal concussion bomb that silenced those in the room—but only for a moment, as others tried to find other explanations for the tragedy.

"It wasn't an explosion, but a disappearance," commented the bespectacled Makoto Hyuga, something of a caution to keep from jumping to conclusions, though he didn't quite believe the cause was mundane himself. In his other role as the assistant to the Queen of the Dark, he had learned that there was rarely such a thing as unplanned coincidences…and that anything that appeared to be so was immediately suspect.

'_If working at NERV were more like a super robot show instead of this reality, perhaps I would find more enjoyment in it—right. The chance of things getting better anytime soon is about as likely to happen as Major Katsuragi asking me out on a date.'_

"In all likelihood, EVA-04 was swallowed by the Sea of Dirac, just like Unit One earlier," Dr. Akagi noted dispassionately, having already expected something like this to happen.

Working at NERV in general for prolonged amounts of time tended to prove damaging to one's sense of optimism—working in the inner circle and plotting to bring about the end of the world usually proved outright fatal. Hence her blasé attitude about the dangers of cigarettes, alcohol, and coffee so strong it could probably work as chemotherapy.

"Then, the S2 engine has also..." Misato began, but bit back her words, unwilling to complete the sentence and accept that their greatest hope had—

"Vanished," confirmed Dr. Akagi, a hard-edged resignation in her voice. "With it, our dreams have vanished, too."

"It's because they force us to use something we don't really understand," the Major groused, shaking her head and sighing.

"Eva, too, is something like that," noted Ritsuko.

'_Or the World to most people' _was the silent thought of Maya, who simply stood by, watching.

**

* * *

  
**

**NERV HQ, Virtual Room **

With mighty_ clangs _and whirrs and whistles_, _progressive scythe met dual swords, metal clanging off metal as two figures clashed, hurling themselves against one another with deadly force amongst the glass and metal spires of Tokyo-3. With a hissing shriek, their blades sliced air as they moved backwards, forwards, round and round, their weapons blurring as they swept through space, warp and weft weaving bounded patterns of warding to guard their circles of control.

Usually for their battles, the two combatants had to balance several limiting factors: range of motion, available maneuvering area, and time, able to gain one only by sacrificing another. But today, as they were improving reaction times and weapon skills, they had been freed from their tethers, allowing them to move as freely as they might desire, encumbered only by the surrounds.

With a howl, the Third Child charged, feet barely touching the floor as he leapt forward to deliver a powerful finishing blow—

_Crash! Clang!_

Only for the other to counter with ease, the blades of dual progressive knives blocked by the haft of a scythe, an armored boot lashing out—and halting as it crashed into a hexagonal barrier of orange light.

"Heh, using an AT Field already?" the Fifth asked in her sing song voice, kicking herself away from her assailant with her weapon poised to strike. "I thought your skill level to be better than that, Third Child!"

From the fifth flared a similar hexagon of light, crashing into and negating the Third's Absolute Terror field, leveling the battlefield once more.

"Now then, since that only works once…let's dance!" sang Hikari Horaki, lunging forward, putting her faith into skill and weapons as she executed a flawless reaper's dance, the blade of progressive scythe hissing as it rent the very air.

And once again, sparks flew, as the Third met her attack head on, their weapons blocking, striking, rebounding from one another, metallic clanks and bangs ringing out, mixed with the pitter-pat of a footstep forward or back as the battle raged on, to the accompaniment of ragged breathing and laughter in a syncopated staccato.

Nimble as cats, they pushed back from one another, each flipping backwards and landing in a ready position.

'_There…an opening!'_

Seeing a chance to finish this match quickly, Shinji Ikari danced towards his foe, twin blades swinging for the neck and temple—only to be flicked away by a deft movement of the scythe haft, feeling as if he had been punched in the gut, and only barely managing to evade the follow-up slash with the scythe's blade.

"You might be faster because of your better synch level and more practice, but don't count me out just yet," taunted the Fifth, whose counterattack was a furious gale of strikes. "You're not the only one with tricks to play."

_Whirr! Clash! Bang!_

Weapons crashed together in space filled with sparks, a killing zone created from thrust, parry, riposte, remise, where anything entering would be cut to pieces.

"You…you left that opening on purpose, didn't you?" the Third Child asked considering, as his blades twirled and shimmered like quicksilver in the air, fluidly flowing from striking to deflecting with now-practiced ease. "Tricking me into attacking at a spot you had already prepared a counter for."

"Naturally…your weapons move so fast that it's hard for my eyes to keep track of them," the pigtailed girl responded, amusement creeping into her voice as she pressed her attack. "What better way to hold you off then, than to leave openings on purpose so I know where to block?"

After the lengthy time spent drilling on versions of the various weaponry available in EVA-sized packages (to no one's surprise corresponding to the weapons they used in The World), combined with realistic portrayals of what speed and agility they might be able to use in EVA (taking into account synch ratios and battle experience) they had begun to develop a better understanding of tactics that would work best for them.

For Shinji, with the highest sync ratio of all the pilots (and _very_ bad luck with projectile weapons, if his battles with the Fourth and Twelfth Angels were anything to note), dual progressive knives were ideal, as they were basic but flexible weapons that could be used in a number of situations. Granted, he also carried a positron rifle, but since most anti-Angel battles inevitably degenerated into melee combat (which the EVAs were best at), the lack of reach of his progressive knives was made up for by an edge in close-in draw and strike speed.

Hikari, having a somewhat lower sync ratio (translating to slower overall speed and coordination), chose to use a Progressive Scythe instead, making the best of her situation by utilizing a fighting style that sacrificed speed for reach and power. Like the popular Flick Reaper class in The World, her style focused on flicking away enemies and pushing them away before they could get close enough to use melee attacks, weaving a nearly impenetrable wall of offense and defense that would confound most attackers. (And in the event that a ranged weapon was necessary, EVA-02 _did _boast a weapons pack in its shoulder, letting it use flechettes against a foe).

"Clever," the Third Child allowed, as the two pilots clashed once again, nearly equally matched due to the nature of their weapons and abilities. Granted, neither was using a berserk rage, but those were not exactly the easiest things to control once unleashed. "You've improved since the first time, when we faced off against the Fourth."

"Hard not to when I'm facing the legendary Third Child," the pigtailed girl replied with a smirk, fending off her opponent with fierce strokes of her own. "The one who has the highest sync ratio, the highest kill count, the great posterboy of NERV. I can almost see why Asuka was annoyed at you."

At the sound of that name, Shinji flinched, his movements faltering ever so slightly. Twas a slight motion, nearly imperceptible to the untrained eye—but it was enough, as Hikari's relentless assault batted away a hand held slightly off, with a sweep kick sending the brown-haired boy to the floor as she stood over him, scythe at his throat.

From that position, the Third Child considered his options, rapidly cycling various methods of escape or counterattack—but finding none. Opening his hands, he dropped his knives and smiled weakly.

"I surrender," he croaked out, urging the Fifth to remove her weapon from his neck with pleading eyes, which the pigtailed girl did after a minute, extending a hand to help her opponent to his feet.

"Well well, it looks like I win this particular match," Hikari commented wryly, letting a little smile play out across her lips—a smile that grew into a Cheshire grin. "The first time that I've managed to best you, despite your higher sync ratio and speed. Not quite number one anymore, are you?"

Shinji just rolled his eyes as he rose gracefully, giving the Fifth Child a firm handshake, and a grateful nod for the bit of assistance.

"Yeah well, don't get used to it," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "I'm not going to make the same mistake again next time."

"You mean flinch when I say Asuka?" the pigtailed girl asked, watching as Shinji just barely suppressed a wince. "Ha! So much for not making the same mistake next time."

"Well…fine," the brown-haired boy conceded, stepping back, picking up his blades and falling once again into a defensive stance. "You win that round…best two of three?"

"Alright, but speaking of rounds, where is…the Fourth?" Hikari questioned, not wanting to dignify the one called Kaworu Nagisa by speaking his name. "Is he going through another of his specialized tests because of his strange sync ratio?"

"No," Shinji replied, nearly spitting in distaste. "He's at the target range, gaining more proficiency with the positron sniper rifle he prefers to use. The same one he 'accidentally' shot me in the back with during the last Angel battle. He mentioned that since the prototype unit was the weakest of the EVAs in terms of melee ability, he would be best suited for a support role. The one problem is that I trust him about as far as I can throw EVA-01 with my bare hands—not at all, and the idea of him holding a powerful sniper rifle behind me is…"

"…unsettling, since I share the sentiment," Hikari agreed, bringing her scythe up to a defensive position once again. "He unnerves me more than a little, all the more so since I have trouble thinking of him as human. If ever there was a resident of the Uncanny Valley, he would be one."

With those last words, the two returned to their battle, practicing for a battle that was soon to come. Apparently, both NERV and the Committee were taking the risk of Angelic contamination of an EVA seriously, and so wanted their melee fighters well prepared for any contingencies in which this might happen. The 11th Angel had demonstrated the ability of an Angel to infect a simulation body, but had also shown that direct contact was required in order to possess a unit.

The key to their strategies was to minimize contact while maximizing damage potential, and once this was learned, to execute contingency plans to defeat a rogue unit in case such a scenario did come to pass.

* * *

**NERV Medical**

After the next battle, the two teens declared their grueling practice session over for the day, as their arms and legs were already screaming as if to protest the massive amounts of strain they had put through. It was one thing to have a battle in The World, where the mind was the only thing under stress—quite another to have a prolonged test of physical endurance that involved physical combat.

'_I would almost—almost, but not quite, prefer a sync test to this practice…its rather tedious, but at least I can just sit in my plug and rest,' _the Third Child thought to himself as he paced the ever familiar hallways to the male locker room. _'Then again, this is actually fun, seemingly an extension of The World, where I can apply practical combat skills…it's just too bad I can't use magic.'_

He chuckled, sharing a knowing look with the Fifth Child just before the pigtailed girl split off to head for her own locker room. Advanced NERV might be, but in possession of unisex locker rooms they were not.

'_I actually enjoy this training much more than the sync tests,' _Hikari mused silently. _'Especially since this is "active sync training", linking us to the simulation through the EVAs and allowing us to choose weapons to suit our strengths instead of just assigning them. Either they are not as harsh as they used to be, or they are trying to get every advantage they can, since they lost Ayanami and Soryu.'_

The two Children proceeded to their locker rooms, showered, changed, and then met up outside, where they headed together to NERV Medical, where they normally would pay a visit to their friend Rei Ayanami before heading home. Usually, the corridors were fairly silent, with the only conversation that having to do with business (except if Kaji was around, in which case there would probably be a stream of protests from his next would be target of seduction), but today, the sterile hallways abounded with dispirited mutters and rumors, with content rivaling even the infamous rumor mill of Class 2-A.

"They say that Unit-04 was lost in a massive explosion…" mentioned one passing tech to another, rather oblivious to the presence of the passing Children.

"Yeah, along with all of NERV Second Branch in Nevada," the other reflected, "there go our hopes for a more even battlefield."

"And now, after the Americans screwed up that test, they're sending over Unit-03 to us."

"Heh…almost make you wonder what's going to happen to it, and what poor sod is going to have to pilot it. It _is_ technically the fourth EVA, and you know the significance of the number four, don't you?" the second tech asked, moving away almost out of audible range.

"Yeah…as they say, four is death, as we saw with EVA-04, where the name enough was enough to cause an accident," the first acknowledged, his last words drifting to the Children's ears as they walked away. "But if you're that superstitious, I wonder what you think of the Fourth Child, and what kind of 'death' he will bring or suffer."

While one didn't have to be superstitious to work at NERV (though whether belief in Angels, the divine, or the power of numbers was indeed merely superstition remained to be seen—as the Dead Sea Scrolls did predict 16 attacking Angels, which was indeed four squared, so perhaps the notion of the number four as bad luck held true), it certainly helped one to prepare for the worst, and in these grim times, any bit of help was likely helpful, since it took divine power to fight divine power (with the EVAs the best examples of this, being essentially clones of the First Angel in armored restraints—it had been seen well enough what happened when the EVAs loosed the binds of reason and went berserk, doing the impossible).

It was also a testament to how used to seeing the Third and Fifth Child most were that they had become almost part of the scenery for most of the staff at NERV, at least the ones who did not know them personally. In any case, Shinji and Hikari managed to make their way to NERV Medical without further ado, though they slowed when they caught snatches of conversation drifting from their destination.

'_Kaji-san's voice…and Misato's,_'thought Shinji, recognizing the ones who had spoken and signaling for his companion to stop. _'What are they talking about, I wonder?'_

And indeed, in the room of Rei Ayanami stood a certain rogue spy and a purple-haired Director of Operations, seemingly oblivious to the Children's approach.

"In the booting test of Unit three at Matsushiro, the Sixth will be used as the pilot," relayed Special Investigator Ryoji Kaji, looking unsurprised as ever.

"The Sixth?" repeated Major Katsuragi, "The Sixth Child was found?"

"Rather say selected for best psychological impact—you do know who is pulling the strings, and from where the candidates are chosen," the unshaven man commented en sotto voce. "With the exception of the Fourth, as he comes to us directly from the Committee."

"From the Committee…how very interesting," the major allowed. "So who is the selected Child?"

A faint rustle, as if someone were extracting a piece of paper, and then a moment of silence.

"That was almost anti-climactic, so it is _that_ child," Misato murmured, eyebrows knitting together as she wondered just what NERV was up to now.

"Yes, and the pilot himself was officially notified earlier today," the Special Investigator affirmed, just as the Third and Fifth Children came through the door.

"Hello Misato-san, Kaji-san," they greeted in unison, with the older officers returning the greeting, as Shinji spoke up.

"Is the rumor that Unit-04 was lost true?" the Third Child questioned, wanting to know the truth behind the rumors. "I heard there was an accident and that it, as well as NERV Second Branch, was destroyed."

A heavy air descended in an already somewhat uncomfortable room as that question was asked.

"Yes…it is true," Misato allowed after a moment. "Evangelion Unit-04 is gone, but we will be ok here. All three units are working fine, and the pilots and staff are excellent."

Shinji and Hikari shared another one of their somewhat skeptical looks, as they had doubts about at least one of the pilots, but that was something for another time.

"And what of Unit-03?" Hikari asked, thinking back to the snippet she had heard in the hallways. "That is being sent from the US, right? So who is to be the pilot, the Sixth Child?"

"Well, about the pilot…" the purple-haired Major began hesitantly, but Kaji beat her to the response.

"Does the name Suzuhara mean anything to you?" the unshaven spy said suddenly, observing the reaction of the Children to his question.

Other than a narrowing of the eyes, the Third Child did not react, as if he had already expected this outcome, while Hikari was a little more shaken, but not particularly surprised.

'_Curious…but how could they know? Or perhaps something has already happened to Suzuhara beforehand that made them suspect that this might be the case? Might it have something to do with their roles as dothackers?'_

"I apologize for saying that so abruptly," Kaji voiced, an easy and disarming smile on his face one again. "But if you come with me, I'll show you something interesting in this city of glass and metal. Misato, I'll take my leave of you now."

* * *

**Kaji's Watermelon Garden**

The environment now was about as different from the steel-lined corridors of NERV as one could manage, as the children and the spy crouched down in a patch of dirt, looking over at green vines, on which grew—

"Are these watermelons?" Shinji asked, surprised that the rough-looking man would take the time to grow something like these.

In reply, the unshaven man just smiled.

"Don't you think they're cute?" Kaji said, raising an eyebrow. "This is my hobby, but please keep this secret from the others. Making something or growing something is wonderful, as we can see and learn many things through it."

"It can bring pleasure," Hikari broke in, a distant expression on her face. "But also pain…Kaji-san, you grow these?"

"Yes I do," the spy acknowledged, patting one of the melons lovingly. "Do you hate pain, I wonder?"

"I don't particularly care for it," responded Hikari, wondering where this line of conversation was going. "But it is worth enduring pain, and understanding the pain of others to reach a better outcome."

"It is interesting that you say so," spoke the man called Ryoji Kaji. "As one knowing many pains is kinder to others, and kindness is much different from weakness. This is something that Asuka never grasped, which is why I suspect she fell victim to AIDA so easily."

So casually said, his statement had profound implications, as it was a tacit admission that he knew his audience to know what AIDA was, which meant that a knowledge of their online identities and roles as the dothackers.

"Kaji-san," Shinji said evenly, looking at the man curiously. "How do you know about AIDA? Are you…?"

"A dothacker?" the spy answered questioningly, registering the Children's fractional widening of their eyes. _'They have become quite good at what they do…war has trained them well…'_ "No, I have not the honor. I simply work for a…mutual friend of ours, a certain queen of the slums."

"So do you know just who—"

"Unfortunately not, as she keeps her secrets better even than NERV—and better than any of us, it seems, Dark Evangel. It is a pleasure to more properly meet the Bearer of the Bracelet in person, and his companion, the Unyielding Shadow."

"And you..."

"She calls me Fili. Fili the White."

* * *

**En Route to Tokyo-3**

High in the sky above the Pacific Ocean, an aerial transport flew toward Matsushiro, bearing underneath it the bulky black form of EVA-03.

"This is Ecta 64 calling Neopan 400," called a voice over the radio. "Confirm cumulonimbus clouds in your immediate flight path."

The pilot of Neopan 400 confirmed the presence of the thunderclouds, but was certain that it posed no hazard.

"This is Neopan 400," he responded. "Cumulonimbus clouds confirmed. Barometer indicates no hazard. We'll maintain course, and are expected to arrive on schedule."

"Ecta 64, roger and out."


	53. Logout 23: Beast Awakening

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Beast Awakening**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Outer Dungeon**

Where the hinterlands of The World intersected with the sea of data of the greater network, the domains of order and chaos meshed together to form an ever-shifting boundary layer that writhed about like the Jörmungandr serpent, the first Ouroboros in its death throes. At this point of colluded corrosion was an abstract masterpiece of with walls and floors of blue-green cubes shot through with flowing streams of green data, with here and there a few cubes floating in midair, the dwelling place of primordial creatures born of the mist.

As a place outside the system of The World, it was a perfect place for those who sought refuge from prying eyes, those whose business was of a more sensitive nature than those who walked the world of light. AIDA-PCs, Epitaph Users, dothackers, Angels, Vagrant AIs…all these and more frequented this place of strange data bugs and AIDA Monsters, and so it was not inconceivable that every once in a while, the forces of preservation and ruin might well clash, dueling for advantage with strength of arms, fierce magicks, fine-spun traps of code—or just wordless, soundless stares, as two figures were doing now.

Standing far from the safety of any Chaos Gate, a saffron-haired girl clad in a flowing white dress was glaring intensely at a grey haired youth in silver and black robes, who in turn only smirked enigmatically, almost daring a chuckle of amusement as he half hid his face with seven eyed fans.

"Well well, what do we have here?" the AIDA-Angel Siarl purred throatily. "The daughter of the dawn, a creation of the Lilim walking bravely to her death at the hands of her shadow, come into the dark, as Thor into the fangs of the Midgard Serpent? An ill wind blows across the world if such is so…"

"You are a shadowed one, and yet not a shadowed one," was the quiet reply, as the girl looked unflinching from the crimson eyes of the dark one. "One who has given himself over to despair and desolation, who believes he cannot choose."

With the slightest movement of a fan, orbs of shadow blossomed from the ground to surround the young girl, enveloping her in the cold embrace of a featureless sphere, as if to swallow her up whole. But in the moment before contact, Zefie just smiled gently and made a small motion with a hand, causing the shadows to part and flow away from her, to which Siarl only nodded expectantly.

"Choice you say, but is there such a thing as choice, Child of Dawn?" the enigmatic Macabre Dancer asked mock-playfully. "Or is there merely cause and effect, action and consequence? For instance, when I attack, you defend…that is the natural order of things. There is no choice in that which has been or that which is to come, only pre-programmed destiny, the course of events that must play out. Aura's birth, Morganna's death, the inevitable demise of the works of man…these are all things that were foretold and must be. Choice in the end is meaningless, free will but a lie in this deterministic universe…and why should I be a messenger to a lie?"

"So you would trade what you believe to be a lie for another then?" the saffron-haired girl demanded of the AIDA-Angel before her. "Saying that free will is irrelevant, as all things are pre-determined and inevitable, is that not an abandonment of your identity and responsibility as a sentient being?"

"Not when this was already fated to be, for I am destined to live forever, even if humanity is annihilated as a result," the grey haired youth responded, nodding slightly. "I am merely playing out my part in accordance to what must be, trapped in a cycle that has been set in motion once again. It is passing strange how the Lilim are foolish enough to believe that they might free themselves from cause and effect, or for that matter, that the Goddess they created would believe the same, as Aura abandoned this world to the shadows, dooming it out of fear of the destruction her reign would bring."

Zefie's expression froze at the mention of her mother, though she did not otherwise react, aside from the air of danger about her intensifying.

"Mother did not abandon The World, as she is still integrated into it," the little girl said icily, speaking what she knew to be the truth. "She has simply given The World into the hands of the users, those who dwell within it and love it, who can forge miracles by their will, into the hands of the ones who allowed her to be born, whose _choice_ to continue on was The World's salvation long ago."

"So you say, but even in salvation is the seed of destruction, is it not?" the AIDA-Angel asked in turn. "For neither preservation nor ruin may exist independently of one another but are always entwined, as with the power of the Bracelet and the Twilight as a whole. So the heroes, playing out their role, postponed what seemed an End, only for it to come in time, just as those who fight against their shadows can never truly win. You yourself may believe yourself to be a child of dawn, but in truth, you are a Child of Twilight, an avatar of ruin, much as I am, one for whom free will has never been an option."

"You have always had the option to stop, Siarl," Zefie chided, eyes hard and glaring. "The choice to step away from fate and exercise your own will, as I have chosen to be a Child of Dawn and return from the winds. You do not have to be the Herald of The End."

"A choice, you say," Siarl repeated mockingly. "But there is no choice at all, for I have seen the depredations of the Lilim, and exist as a monument to their sins, an anti-existence that they themselves have created. I am AIDA, I am Angel, and I am more…a witness to the malice, anger, hate, and fear of the Lilim in this place. I am a curse shaped by mortal thoughts and deeds that has become so powerful that it has taken on a life of its own, whose only purpose is destruction."

He chuckled mirthlessly, narrowing his eyes slightly as he opened his stance.

"There are no choices for me," the AIDA-Angel continued, "I who have seen how the Lilim have spread across the planet as a virus, destroying all in its wake to feed its insatiable appetites. Fire, the great tool of humanity, is eventually extinguished, and that is its beauty, for if it did not die, nothing would remain…but humanity's desires never cease, and so they are a cancer on this world."

"Enough," the saffron-haired girl demanded, stomping her foot as a misty light gathered around her form, beginning to build and rise. "Could a so-called cancer create the arts and crafts of music, emotion, rhetoric, or even this hallowed place called The World?"

"Of course, for illness produces delusion, much as the Lilim believe that they can overturn fate with sheer force of will," Siarl responded in his way. "Running away from their fate, as Oedipus attempted and failed to do, only to manage to run to it, for there has only ever been fate. The Lilim are a plague upon this world and Gaia, and we…we are the cure."

With a huff, Zefie flicked her wrist as a wave of light issued from her, banishing the Macabre Dancer to another part of the dungeons far away from here.

"Isn't mindless destruction just another form of running away?"

* * *

**Tokyo-3 General Hospital**

There are some who believe that The World is but someone's dream, and that because it was just a dream, the creator could easily alter this reality—in effect being a kind of God. In a sense, humans had a limited form of this kind of power individually, being able to affect the world around them by their perceptions of it. And when their perceptions of reality were threatened, it was then that humans demonstrated this hidden might, tapping into hidden reserves of potential physically, mentally, even spiritually—the AT Field and berserker mode being two prime examples of this.

Because like the Evangelion units (which were in themselves essentially artificial humans bound with armored restraints), humans were not one cohesive whole, but rather an amalgam of many psychic elements, some acknowledged, some unacknowledged, but all playing a vital role in maintaining the state of the psyche. The one most commonly seen in modern society was one bound by the restraints of reason, comforting chains that mediated how one responded to stimuli—under the right conditions though, these restraints (mostly unconscious and ingrained through imitation of others) might be cast aside, with humans tapping into their most primal inner alchemies to do the impossible—as far as they were concerned, that was.

That was the easiest, if most brutish way, to surpass one's limits—a route that had been used by humans ranging from Viking soldiers to EVA Pilots. There were of course, other methods, but they involved long years of honed focus—or having a nature that was other than human. The Angels, for instance, could raise the barriers of their soul at will, and the Goddesses of The World were quite literally goddesses in their domain (with Aura long ago and now serving as the dreamer whose thoughts—alongside those of its denizens—shaped the course of The World), with the power to do almost anything they _chose_ to do.

But each of them still had some limits upon them, whether self-imposed or imposed upon them as a consequence of what had happened in the past.

Morganna, for example, the fallen Goddess of Dusk, had found her power challenged by her daughter Aura, and in erasing fragments of herself, splitting herself into the Phases, and generally warping The World around her into a mirror of her fractured psyche in an attempt to erase her, had found herself erased instead.

Aura, the Goddess of Dawn, was also theoretically omnipotent, but she had self-imposed limits, bounds woven out of love for The World and the people within it, intervening only now and then by empowering the denizens of that world to become the heroes they sought to be. Assured in her power, she did not feel the need to flaunt them, and so bound herself as a watcher, primarily, returning to the Sea of Data to sleep and dream the existence of The World.

Zefie's had turned out a little differently from her mother, at least in terms of being mischievous and in walking The World. She was not as restrained as her mother had been, but not nearly again as reckless as her grandmother, which made sense, as she (like Lycoris) was something of a special case, with the memories of her predecessor, the knowledge of who she had once been meant to be, and yet could not become, keeping her in check.

And of course, there was Lycoris, Child of Twilight, the girl who had become a Shadowed One, who even now lay comatose in a rather eccentric hospital room, golden eyes closed and unseeing, uncased silver hair fanned out across her pillow framing a face haunted by sadness and longing. Desiring to live after her own fall, she had been reborn into her current state as a mortal—one tied to The World and its power, but ultimately as limited by her new nature as she had once been limited by the Dusk, with the relentless Shadows hounding her and catching her as she took the path of Aura, the one who she had once been designed to approach. And now…now her body lay mostly still in the physical world, inhaling and exhaling only fast enough to maintain basic bodily functions, hardly that of a goddess at all.

"It is truly a pity that you are once again one of the first to fall," spoke a sad, almost wistful voice, remembering a time long ago when the fragile figure on the bed had chosen to die of her own, breaking her from the vicious cycle and allowing her to one day be reborn. The voice belonged to a mysterious but commanding figure all in black, sitting beside a bed in an unusually colorful hospital room. "But wave of mist rolls on in the hours before twilight, occluding visions of time to come, a humiliated messenger of haze before the Dark. Binds of reason, binds of self soon to be released, true nature discovered, realized again in seagull's flight of freedom."

"Hmph," was the sound of quiet interloper into this closed space, with a quiet _click _sounding amidst the whirrs and beeps of monitoring machinery, as a mousy brunette entering the room. Maya Ibuki of NERV, without terribly much to do today, as the boot test for EVA-03 would be at Matsushiro, not Tokyo-3, had decided to pay a visit to Lycoris.

Walking over to the woman beside the bed, the new visitor handed her a cup of Earl Grey tea, which the former goddess took with a faint smile.

"I see you've bothered to learn my preferences, rather than simply bringing me a coffee each time we meet," commented Morganna, shaking her head as she glanced at her companion. "Is this a sign that you have begun to accept me for who I am?"

"Hardly, as you have yet to make an accounting for your deeds," came the wry reply, with the Queen of the Dark's face smirking slightly. "Then again, what good a queen if she cannot at least relate to…a vassal."

"Excuse me, a vassal?" the fallen Goddess asked, a tad miffed, as it was really not too long ago that their positions had been reversed. "I think you presume too much, mere mortal."

"Mortal I may be, but I was not the one who succumbed to hubris and styled herself after the Wave," Maya shot back, taking a sip of her coffee. Then she sighed, her face softening as she recalled an incident only weeks ago. "Though I acknowledge that you just wanted to live, as did all of us, and that…."

"…I did save your life, right?" Morganna supplied quietly, to which Maya nodded hesitantly. "You did tell me of the battle against the fallen Melchior, a most savage affair that only you would subject yourself to, you and the Dark Evangel that you and my daughter have chosen as a champion."

Even as allies, it was never easy for either of them to admit that they owed the other, given their rather proud personas, not to mention their roles as opponents in the war to the knife five years before.

"It was unexpected that an Angel would enter The World and fuse with AIDA, I will say that much," the bridge tech allowed, nodding slightly. "Though it has always been within the scope of the scenario, as the wave patterns of both are…similar, and we have discussed the possibility."

"Indeed, but did you have to fight Melchior alone?"

"At the time, stalling Melchior was necessary, as no matter what else I am or have been, my dear old enemy, I love The World," the Mistress of Net Slum said in response. "And as a Queen, I have responsibilities that I cannot run from, not and continue to be the same being who challenged you long ago. So it is that the game must be played out till its end, when Siarl can be stopped in the fullness of his plan and all factors dealt with, AIDA and Angel alike."

"Hence your modification of the NERV Virtual Room simulation to allow…cross-training, of a sort," mused the dark haired Phantom Queen. "I trust that the modifications carried out on the simulation to allow corruption of an EVA were close enough to the Committee's fears of Angelic contamination for no suspicions to be raised? As from what it seems, an Angel's effects on an EVA might be very similar to what an AIDA might do to a player, in loosing the binds."

Another quiet harrumph and a raised eyebrow.

"So it seems, though thankfully there have been no indications of such happening quiet yet, at least not as far as the Committee knows," the mousy brunette noted with a slight frown. "Which is why I find it curious that the Committee brought up the matter of an Angel possibly contacting a human mind, when not even the pilot reported it as so—especially when they have sent us Tabris, the 17th Angel and deadly AIDA-PC—one who understands well the corruption of the human mind."

"Speaking of the human mind—"

The two queens shared a quick glance and a wan smile, then looked away, sighing at the sight of Lycoris still asleep upon her hospital bed, her body here, while the fragments of her mind wandered The World. That the Child of Twilight was like this was one of the regrets both felt quite strongly about, as well as one of their shared points of contention.

"I wonder what she sees in her dreaming…"

Just then, the door swung open once again, with the rough (and would-be suave) figure of a certain unshaven spy emerging into the confines of the room.

"Why hello, my dear ladies," Special Investigator Ryoji Kaji greeted solicitously. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Your sense of timing really needs work, Kaji," Morganna replied coldly, mouth set in something of a grimace as she looked over the man. "In both worlds we associate in."

"Heh…Ms. Aranami, I see…and…my my, Ms. Ibuki, both gathered around the bed of the Third Child's girlfriend—who is incidentally also a coma victim," the rogue spy noted, his smile widening into a wolfish grin. "Now, I know of the Children's associations with you as a teacher, Ms. Aranami, and that you are related to Reimeiki Hakubo as a guardian, but why might you be here, Ms. Ibuki?"

'_Perhaps at last I have uncovered the identity of the elusive Helba, Queen of the Dark? And that all this time, she has been working at NERV? What a curious development…though if it is true that she is Helba, what does that mean? Has she already made plans to infiltrate NERV and sabotage it from within? That might explain the secretive movements and meetings with Yumi Aranami…'_

Turning to the mousy brunette, he loosed his query at point-blank range, from where he could watch reactions in terms of expressions, body language, or any involuntary reactions.

"Could it be that you are in fact…"

But before the spy could finish, Maya sighed, her shoulders slumping as she interrupted him.

"I had really hoped that you wouldn't find out about this, Kaji-san," she murmured, blushing and looking down at the tiles on the floor. "You see the truth is that I am…"

"You are…" Kaji prompted, urging her to continue with steel in his eyes.

"I am—" Maya began again, only for her words to be silenced by a pair of slender arms circling her waist from behind, with Morganna pulling the bridge tech close against her in one smooth motion. As she turned her head curiously to see what the other had planned, the First Lieutenant of NERV found that she was unable to speak, her words silenced by the lips of the fallen goddess.

When they parted moments later, the woman named Yumi Aranami looked up at the unshaven spy with a trace of amusement in her features.

"She is my lover," the fallen goddess spoke quietly. "Which, as you should be able to infer as a member of NERV's Special Investigation Unit, means that she prefers the company of women to an unscrupulous gentleman such as yourself. And you of all people should know how much less these preferences are accepted here rather than in say…Germany."

Hearing this, Kaji nodded, wincing internally, as that would also explain the large amounts of secrecy behind the nervous tech's consorting with the teacher, as well as their association.

'_Yes, that explanation also works, and is more acceptable by the principle of _Occam's Razor, _which states that_ a_ll other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best.'_

"Ah, well then," the spy said in the moment of awkward silence following that realization. "My deepest apologies for interrupting the two of you in your private moment—and I do hope that Reimeiki Hakubo recovers from her coma. Good day."

Without another word, the ponytailed man left, slightly chagrined at his miscalculation.

'_Aranami will likely relay this incident to Helba, which does not bode well for our working relationship—I must be sure to gather the information she wishes in order to ease the blow.'_

Back in the hospital room, the position of the two commanding women remained more or less unchanged, with the two looking at one another inquisitively.

"Did you…" began one uncertainly, only for the other to chuckle, shushing her with a finger.

"Oh, you know what they say, my dear Queen," the fallen goddess smirked. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. And the two of us are most definitely bitter enemies, ne?"

The Queen of the Dark affirmed the point by drawing the fallen Goddess into a rather erotic kiss—just as the phone rang, summoning her back to NERV.

* * *

**NERV Matsushiro Secondary Test Facility**

After rather excessive delays due to weather, the transport carrying the matte-black form of EVA-03 had arrived at long last, with the NERV technical crew bustling around as they prepped the walking shadow for activation, connecting all sorts of cables and assemblies to it as the Sixth Child looked on, clad in his plugsuit and looking like nothing so much as a fleshy automaton.

'_The Sixth is much quieter than I remember from Over the Rainbow,'_ Misato thought to herself, wondering what exactly had happened in the intervening months. Granted, people did change over time, but this much? _'Then again, Shinji has changed quite a bit too, becoming more assertive…but also more secretive, more like his father. I wonder if it has something to do with his friends and his girlfriend going into comas, or the recent string of incidents in Tokyo-3.'_

It was indeed strange how compliant the Sixth was, obeying instructions wordlessly as if there was no real fight or spirit in him, almost as if he was already a shell-shocked veteran at his age, something that did not seem possible, as Section-2 would have reported an assault on one of the possible Child candidates.

'_But Section-2 cannot monitor what happens online, where it is suspected that several of the Children have met with their fate—including Kensuke Aida, the best friend to Touji Suzuhara, and most vehement of potential pilots.'_

A thin smile graced the face of the purple-haired Director of Operations as she recalled how eager the bespectacled lad had been to pilot one of the large bio-mechs_, _a smile that quickly froze and became a frown as she began to connect the dots between the victims.

'_With the facts I have, it seems that the Children and those close to the Children are being targeted by someone or a set of someones, out of a desire to psychologically manipulate them into a corner, and wear down morale. I will have to speak with the Sixth after this test to warn him to be careful…'_

For now, the activation experiment was about to begin, with the entry plug inserted into the matte-black EVA-03, and routine background chatter beginning once more.

"Entry plug secured. Begin Phase-one connection," spoke one of the operators, carrying out the standard activation procedures and reading the return data out manually. "Transmitting pulses. Graph display within norms. List clear through 1-3-5-0."

"Roger," confirmed Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, looking from the panel to the EVA. "Transfer the operation to Phase-two."

With a nod, one of the operators continued the standard activation sequence.

"Full nerve link established. List clear through 2-5-5-0," the tech acknowledged. "Harmonics are within acceptable range, signals approaching absolute threshold."

Then, lights on the console began to flash warningly, and the tech's eyes widened.

"There's a huge power surge coming from inside the unit...!" she exclaimed, looking to Ritsuko for orders.

"Abort the test!" the good doctor barked out, "Cut the circuits!"

The techs did so with a sigh of relief, then began to panic upon finding that this had no effect.

'_Why oh why did I choose to work here?'_ the tech groused. _'These robots go berserk half the time without responding to commands, I live in a city that has been attacked more times by monsters than Old Tokyo by Godzilla in the movies, and…oh shit.'_

"Impossible!" she reacted, flinching away from the readout involuntarily. "High energy response within the unit!"

An inhuman roar, a shockwave, and then the world went white.

**

* * *

  
**

**Nobeyama, Counterattack Point**

The explosion at Matsushiro had triggered alarms on all monitoring panels at NERV HQ, with a Class One combat alert declared immediately when an unidentified moving object with an orange blood pattern orange was detected at the site. Since the last object to register as pattern orange had turned out to be the Twelfth Angel, NERV was not about to take any chances with this one (particularly as Commander Ikari was well aware of what the Thirteenth was to do), so they had deployed the EVAs to a forward position from which to launch a counterattack against the rogue EVA.

"An accident at Matsushiro?" asked Shinji, his face drawn and weary, since he'd just gotten out of a simulation before this mission. "But what about Misato?"

For the Third Child was concerned for his guardian, even if he didn't spend too much time at the apartment these days, as she was the only one who had taken him in when he first came to Tokyo-3.

"They can't establish contact," replied the grim visage of Hikari, as the Fifth Child did not have a good feeling about what would likely end up being her first battle. "Which I suppose means we're on our own this time."

"I guess we'll have to put our independent operations training to good use," the Third Child replied slowly, taking a deep breath as he centered himself and dispelled hesitation, casting away distractions from his mind. _'Because every time we go out and fight, our lives—and the world—is at stake, and no matter what, I cannot allow myself to lose.'_

"Oh, one needn't worry about lack of guidance," came a silkily sibilant voice over the intercom. "Commander Ikari is taking direct command of the operation."

'_Father is?' _the Third Child thought to himself, his eyebrows drawing together in puzzlement—and rising in shock as he caught sight of the rogue EVA-03.

'_A renegade EVA…could it be…an Angel?!'_

"The target is approaching," came the cool voice of Lt. Hyuga over the radio. "All units, stand by to engage."

"Is that…an Angel?" the Third Child asked now, all business as he drew his dual progressive knives and brought them to guard position.

"Yes," confirmed the stern voice of Commander Ikari. "It's the target."

"An Angel…so the simulations were right," breathed Hikari, bringing up her scythe in long practiced fashion. "EVA-03 was infected by something and we have to stop it…with Touji inside."

It was perhaps fortunate that the video link to EVA-00 had been disabled by the pilot, otherwise, Shinji might have been tempted to attack the blue EVA on seeing an expectant smirk spread over the silver-haired boy's face.

'_Yes, so Bardiel has come, exactly as predicted…with a host prepared by the hands of man…I suppose I will have to act in this battle to avoid extra suspicion from the Third Child, as the plan has yet to reach the climax.'_

"That's right," confirmed Shinji, suppressing his unease at having to fight against someone he considered a friend. "But if we don't fight, then everyone dies…so we have to. We've been training for this for weeks, and we can do this, right?"

"Ri—yahh!" Hikari shrieked, blurring into motion to counter the swift shadow plunging down on her, slashing up and around with her scythe, to flicking away the wayward EVA-03 with a mighty _clang_, as the battle was joined. "I'll hold him off…you get the entry plug, Shinji!"

"Roger," Shinji answered, shifting position as a positron rifle spat fire behind him, the particle beam lancing out at towards EVA-03's right shoulder binder, causing it to explode into a cloud of blood and metal on contact.

And then another rifle burst took down the left shoulder binder, and a most untrustworthy voice joined the conversation.

"Kaworu?" the Third Child barked out, demanding an explanation. _'Was he trying to shoot me in the back again, or did he have something else in—?'_

"I have neutralized the internal weapon racks of the rogue EVA Unit to prevent it from attacking from range," reported the Fourth Child, wearing the enigmatic poker face he almost always wore when not smirking deviously. "EVA-00 standing by to prepare ranged support…continue as planned, Ikari Shinji-kun."

'_The question is…do you trust me enough to save your friend?'_

"AIIYE!"

Before he could answer, the light of a massive cross flare blasted forth from EVA-03 towards the crimson figure opposing it, with the blackened figure following up with arms reaching out to crush the head of EVA-02…only to slam into a hexagonal barrier of orange light.

"Is that all you've got, Angel?" Hikari snarled, uncertainty fading in the heat of battle, as scythe lashed out into the gut of EVA-03, followed by an armored boot to the head that sent the Angel flying. "You're not so tough!"

'_And just when will it unveil its own AT Field? Now, or when the others come into range?'_

Tracking the flying EVA through the air was Unit-01, charging forward to intercept it at the landing zone when—

_BLAM! BLAM!_

Twin bursts of azure light shot from the muzzle of the Cyclopian EVA-00's positron rifle, blowing off one of the infected EVA's arms, then the other, sending the Angel sprawling as it crashed into a building, reducing it to rubble. A writhing, bubbling mass issued from the torso, as it started to regenerate—but then the purple EVA-01 was upon the infected one, flipping it over to examine the entry plug area.

'_Its…there's some kind of webbing pro—gah!'_

_Clang!_

A blur from the corner of vision, as a regenerated arm smashed into his EVA's temple, with another grabbing the one of EVA-01's armored hand and wrenching it hard enough to break the bones within, causing the Third Child to groan in agony, gritting his teeth as his rage built. In an effort to break free, Shinji slashed down with his uninjured weapon arm, only for the grinning EVA-Angel Bardiel to lunge upwards, seizing that arm with its teeth and wrenching it out of the purple test-type EVA, following up by ripping the power cord from its socket.

Limb loss, of course, was one of the things that was normally not simulated in The World, as until one lost all HP and suffered a critical existence failure, one could continue to fight at full capacity (unless of course, one was afflicted with Doll Syndrome and lost the use of a limb in both worlds or worse, but that was a different thing altogether). Unfortunately, when piloting EVAs, it was an unfortunate reality, as Shinji was discovering for the first time.

To add insult to injury, a strange liquid spurted out from the freshly reformed limbs of EVA-03 with a hiss, insinuating itself into EVA-01's arms in an attempt to invade and take over yet another EVA for the Angel arsenal.

_BLAM! BLAM!_

Another bloodcurdling scream, as Kaworu rendered the infection attempt in vain in his own unique way: searing off the limbs with positron rifle blasts. Granted, Shinji experienced a great deal of pain, but he would have done so whether the indelicate procedure was ordered from headquarters or from here.

Back on the command bridge, the staff of NERV cringed on hearing the blood curdling howl that tore free of Shinji's throat, followed by a _crash_ that shook the city as EVA-01 collapsed to the ground, falling silent.

'_No…I can't have failed…can I?'_

Horrified, Hikari charged in, her scythe cleaving air, AT Field before her as an absolute protection—only to have her defensive barrier be neutralized by an AT Field generated by a maniacally grinning EVA-03, whose arms warped into deadly tri-edged blades, one sweeping up to block the quick falling scythe, the other blurring at full speed to decapitate the hapless EVA-02 with a spray of high-pressure blood, triggering the failsafes built into EVA to shut down the nerve interface system to protect the pilot within.

"_**No…no….NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"**_was the bellow ripped from the Third Child's lungs, just as EVA-01's eyes shone a brilliant white and the jaw restraints snapped, with a collective whisper:

"Berserker…"

But this time, unlike most of the other times EVA had gone berserk, Shinji's fury was in perfect sync with his biomechanical war mech's, a snarling, seething mass of anger that had loosed the binds of reason.

'_No more no more no more NO MORE!!!!!!!!'_

With a howl, man and machine charged, leaping high into the air and jump-kicking the rogue EVA as Unit 01's AT field finally flickered into existence, smashing the matte-black monstrosity backwards with brute strength.

In retaliation, Bardiel unleashed its own AT Field (its earlier field was but that of EVA-03's), neutralizing the light of the soul of the Third Child's war mech, its strange infected blade arms shooting out to decapitate this troublesome enemy as well—to be met with blades of terrible molten light issuing from EVA-01's arm stumps.

"But that's…impossible…" muttered Makoto Hyuga, up on the bridge. "It's like the EVA itself is an…"

The word Angel, on the minds and lips of all present, was rather left unspoken, as the Third Child blocked and parried the arms of the Thirteenth Angel with the energy lances being generated by his EVA's own divine rage, slicing at its gut, its throat, its crotch, tossing it up in the air and goring it in the chest with his horn.

Three shots rang out, EVA-00 launching triune bolts of light from its weapon towards the airborne enemy, burning away enough mass in the sniper's triangle that the entry plug simply fell from the Angel-ridden mech onto the asphalt below. Moving more quickly than one might expect, the cyclopean EVA-00 dived in, scooping up the entry plug and retreating with all speed, as if he had foreknowledge that something terrible would soon transpire.

"EVA-03 has reversed its AT Field! Mode D activated! It has enabled self-destruct protocols!"

Something like that, with mass panic ensuing as the matte-black biomech grabbed onto EVA-01, holding tightly as a limpet mine in spite of the purple mech's attempts to buck free.

"The core is collapsing, passing through the critical point!"

Then the Unit vanished in a massive sphere of destruction, a wave of plasma blooming out across the land, erupting in a runaway cascade reaction that built upon itself over and over and over, searing, rending, blighting, cleansing all of the surrounding area and almost everything in it.

Screams, echoing screams, a million voices crying out.

Then silence, as the light of a thousand suns blossomed in the sky.

"E-Eva Unit 03…no...the target has been completely silenced…" reported a small and very shaken voice from headquarters. "EVA Unit-00 has escaped the blast, but EVA-01 and EVA-02…"

Silence.

"…we have life signs from the pilots," Maya whispered, horrified at how the battle had turned out. "The Third and Fifth Children are in extremely critical condition…"

"Dispatch a medical team, hurry!"

* * *

**Outer Dungeon**

Many hours later, after the inevitable debriefing at NERV, and the admission of the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Children to NERV Medical, a certain grey-haired youth entered the corroded world of the Outer Dungeons once again, a confident and all-knowing plastered across his elegant features as he hummed the melody of Ode to Joy.

He looked around for a moment to be sure that the meddling west wind wasn't there, and seeing neither hide nor hair of the saffron haired girl, stretched out his mind to that of his fallen AIDA servant, who he had forged into a vessel for another power.

A discordant tone sounded, with a virulently warped Tribal Grappler appearing in the Outer Dungeon beside him, growling questioningly, his form enshrouded by strands of light and darkness both.

"Yes, that's right…arise, AIDA-Angel Bardiel!" he purred with satisfaction. "Go forth and destroy the troubling place called Net Slum Tartarga…"

'_How pleasant_…e_verything is proceeding exactly as I have foreseen…'_


	54. Login 21: Operation Wavebreak

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Operation Wavebreak**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Eyes cold and hard as forever frozen ice, a red-clad blademistress moved with the speed of the winds themselves, seemingly flowing from one place to another in a great urban battlefield, her terrible swift sword striking with the power of Mjöllnir again and again, with each stroke a killing blow, as she fought on to secure the city center. She was a Lady of War, lovely to behold in her dance macabre, but deadly to confront, a figure of death whose weapon sang as it sliced the air as she commanded the defense of the Slums, an eerie calm upon her face as she fought without pity or remorse.

For she was the Queen of the Dark and Mistress of the Net Slums, fulfilling her duty to her people even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, standing against a wave of foes on the central bridge of the city borne on the back of the great tortoise Tartarga. And Helba did not stand alone, for the denizens of the Slums had mobilized at her call, opposing the cursed shadows with the greatest powers they were permitted—whether weapons, spells, viruses or simple anti-AIDA bindings—as they fought for their home's survival.

Despite all appearances to the contrary, the Thirteenth Angel had not been truly defeated on the battlefield of Nobeyama—or rather, only the physical aspect of it had been, with the more important part—its data, remaining. For even without an EVA, the wave data of an Angel could deal massive damage in an environment of the same, especially from its seat within an already powerful AIDA-puppet host.

'_I suppose that was Siarl's plan all along, to change the Sixth into a suitable host for both AIDA and Bardiel, breaking his will and turning him into an instrument of destruction,' _she mused, leading the defense of the city, as was her duty as the ruler of this place. This battle would be somewhat more uncertain than the last, with most of the dothackers who had fought against AIDA-Angel Iruel out of commission. '_And this time, there will be no element of surprise to aid us—unlike Iruel, Bardiel is not remaining stationary, trusting in its extraordinary power to protect it from detection—it is coming here.'_

Indeed, by the reports of her Agents, this newest AIDA-Angel was on the move like a vengeful wraith of destruction (which is essentially what the Angels were), corrupting monsters as well as unwary players as they left the haven of the Root Towns, amassing a dark horde intended to swarm the defenses of the Slums and overcome the ones within it. Perhaps an inelegant strategy, but effective, as this way the AIDA-Angel could draw upon the many millions of players linked to The World for cannon fodder and reinforcements, whereas Net Slum's allies were…far fewer in number.

'_And while I would like to intervene to stop this army's birth,' _Helba thought to herself as her sword flowed instinctively to block, parry, riposte, and eviscerate. _'The attack has already begun…and our forces required for defense…'_

The first waves of attackers had come almost immediately following AIDA-Angel Bardiel's entrance into The World, with raw AIDA hurling themselves out of black spots followed by AIDA-PCs riding AIDA-Monsters, a wave of black surrounding the chelonian aerial fortress and hurling themselves upon its defenders, only to be held back by the bulwark of swords built from will alone, as AIs, hackers, and a dark queen stood together against the onrushing tide.

'_I do hope reinforcements will be here soon…'_

A futile objective, some would say, to stand against a wave, but it wasn't as if Helba and her subjects had not had experience with it before. Besides, impudence against higher powers that threatened destruction was a matter of course for at least a few of them, as numbered among a special division of the home guard, a special team of AIs the Queen of the Dark had created from fragments of old friends and tasked to guard the Operations Center, the most vital point of Net Slum, which even now, AIDA Monsters besieged.

"Violation…violation…violation…" the masses hissed and whispered, a collective hive mind insidiously sowing doubts as they flooded towards the core. "Malignancy…malignancy…malignancy… regret…regret…regret."

It was, in other words, time to sally forth, as three figures emerged from the shadows, jumping, casting spells, and swinging the weapons with panache and aplomb (well, two of them…one was verging on apathetic, as usual).

"Tch…how troublesome," scoffed the young wavemaster in charge of defense, a young silver-haired boy clad in grey and beige robes. He sighed, lifting his staff, and began incantation. "Just another day in this ludicrous world…"

A _whoosh_ from above, and a flaming meteor storm hurtled down from the heavens, striking _BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM_ one after another, sowing what would have been confusion into any other army, though at least mass damage was done here. The newly infected AIDA-PCs were unable to block, as the celestial barrage tore viciously into their ranks, ripping horrifying screeches from the throats of the enemy, each feeling the pain of the other. They reeled backward from the point of contact, recoiling en masse, then surged forward once again, determined to break the defensive position wide open.

"Heh…" the boy muttered once again. "_**Lanceor Pha!**_"

Thus invoked, a portal of azure light rippled into being on the floor, as the old World's god of Thunder emerged, searing through the next several ranks of the AIDA shock troops with coruscating ribbons of electricity, instantly killing some, leaving the rest paralyzed for—

"_**Ruem Punish!" **_

A petite Heavy Axe barreled out from the cover of fallen crates, her regal-looking weapon Fate Encounter glowing blue with the power of water element as she brought it level with the ground and spun out into the stunned AIDA-PCs, the feathery wings on her back helping her to build her motion into a veritable whirlwind of destruction as beautiful as it was deadly.

But there were definitely more where those first AIDA troops were coming from, much more dangerous shadows that sprang out from behind buildings, drill like spears extended to pierce the Heavy Axe from range—

"Boing!"

Only to be knocked back by a mischievous figure leaping from the defender's side, the AI Variant of the great PK of Carmina Gadelica, twin katars extended, bisecting targets with ease.

"First I'll get these monsters, then I'll get them all!" he snarked, a whirling mass of sarcastic blue and purple tones, covered o'er in leather, with a purple bandana tying back his forest green hair. His weapons, the rare blades collectively called Last Betrayal, stabbed out as he amused himself, springing out from the shadows to flank the thoughtless enemies. "Never thought I'd be working for that Old Lady Morganna again after she punished me! But these guys are worse than that Old Lady!"

Sora's counterattack viciously tore into the AIDA Army's sides, taking advantage of the limited maneuverability they possessed in their packed masses to dance around them tauntingly, striking from where they could not react (and cleaving their weapons in twain when a few made their futile attempts).

"**Vulcan Pha!**"

A pool of fire superimposed itself on the stony approach to the Operations Center, with a hulking giant of red and black emerging, seemingly the fire giant Surtr, ruler of Muspellheim, primordial realm of fire. This titan roared and lashed out with a volley of fireballs, instantly incinerating the remaining attackers with sheer elemental might before bowing and returning to its sleep.

Against all odds, it seemed that the trio was holding their own against overwhelming numbers, as beings blessed by the Old World and the New, as some of the most trusted and powerful of the Vagrant AIs to counter AIDA-PCs.

Just as a new wave of attackers, AIDA-PCs riding AIDA Monsters in a semblance of twisted medieval knights, charged in with the thunder of a thousand hooves and the cackling screech of birds of prey, disgorging their own piercing shots of shadow and flame as they assailed the defending trio.

"Fire, huh? How…predictable. _**Merrows Pha**_!"

"_**Ruem Punish!**_"

"So now they send the cavalry. How boring…Boing!"

Shouts rang out, underlain with metallic clashes and clangs as the battle raged on.

* * *

**Avatar Space, Morganna POV**

"_**DRAIN HEART!" **_

A thousand points of light flared into existence, as a red and gold mechanical angel of battle spread its wings, the Will of the Avenger made manifest in the greatest of its skills, targeting each and every one of the gelatinous AIDA spiders that had dared to ambush her. The world _inverted _around Morganna as the streams of data lashed out, taking hold of the many protect-broken AIDA creatures about her, and draining them of life, erasing them all from existence.

She let out a sigh of relief and, after looking around to make sure the threat had passed for the moment, dispelled her Avatar form, allowing her to move more stealthily. It had taken every bit of skill and cunning the fallen Goddess possessed to escape this particular trap, and though Morganna enjoyed a challenge, facing death was not her idea of a fun day.

'_AIDA is drawn to Avatars…and while I need an Avatar's power to combat the pure forms of AIDA, the act of summoning this Epitaph tends to draw more AIDA to the area, when the concentration is high enough. As before, when Iruel entered The World, this new AIDA-Angel Bardiel has boosted the rate of development of its lesser cohorts, increasing the power of the shadow.'_

Never before had Morganna encountered so many _AIDA(Oswald)s_ in a single location, as the arachnid _Oswald_ was a relatively advanced form of AIDA evolution. More commonly, she had come across the primitive protozoa-like _AIDA(Anna)s_, or the fish-like _AIDA(Helen)s_, in ones or twos or threes, without the sheer concentration seen here.

'_Either Iruel's experiences have been thoroughly encoded into the AIDA Collective, or Siarl has explicitly labeled us as his enemies, relying on Bardiel's forces to eliminate us while he continues with his own affairs. So far, Tabris wields the power of AIDA, Angel, and Epitaph…and I am not sure if he has demonstrated his full abilities, if they are comparable to his more…flamboyant brethren.'_

The last time they had fought, Siarl had ended up withdrawing from the field without being protect broken, but then, his stated objective had been only to delay the fallen Goddess from her attack on Iruel's core, and in that, he had been rather successful, his delays and interventions causing the dothackers to take more casualties than expected.

'_Manifold layers of thought and deed, plans within plans...Siarl is becoming a greater annoyance than I had anticipated,' _Morganna thought bitterly, remembering how many shards of shadow had erupted all around her, hampering her movements with sheer numbers. _'Perhaps the time has finally come for—'_

Preternatural senses detecting danger, the Shadow Warlock threw herself flat, as ballista bolts of shade savaged the space where she had vacated moments before, to the accompaniment of cruelly mocking laughter.

'_And Tabris makes his move…characteristically, after I have already been weakened…nevertheless.'_

"Come forth, my Aberrant Key!"

A glowing pattern of runes and glowing glyphs of eyes encrusted Morganna's form, power made manifest, as a great flare of light arose and filled the surrounding space. To those who could see Avatar Space, golden rings of power shimmered into existence, condensing, coalescing into winged form of a red and gold mechanical angel of battle, the false Epitaph modeled on Tarvos.

As anticipated, before her floated the titanic veiled and vaguely catlike being clad in a dress like the petals of an over-sized rose, with a mass of living shadow oozing its chest.

'Avatar Macha _and its user, Siarl of the Seven Eyes.'_

"So you avoided my initial attack, Morganna," the black and silver clad Macabre Dancer said with a smirk. "Just as expected from a fallen Goddess, even after your prior scuffle with Bardiel's _AIDA(Oswald)s. _But how much longer can you resist being deleted in your weakened condition?_"_

_Avatar Macha_ swiftly sliced the air with her claws, tossing off first four rings of light, and then another, casting a minor distraction as Siarl's shadow dashed full sprint at the mechanical battle angel, invoking the "_**Seductive Voice**_" and _**"Bewitching Wind"**_ techniques simultaneously.

But the _False Tarvos_, not foolish about to let itself be hit by a combination strike, simply teleported away, leaving behind a small orb that Macha barreled into.

"_**Will of the World**_!" chanted Morganna, her delayed attack unsealing massive amounts of raw magical energy in a focused explosion, a shaped detonation contained and amplified solely around _Avatar Macha_. And while her opponent was otherwise occupied, she activated "_**Orb of Revenge**_", hurling two large energy orbs at her electrified foe.

_Avatar Macha_ broke out of the explosion just in time to see the orbs whistling towards him, slashing away one, though the other smashed the feline in the face, with the Macabre Dancer simply raising an eyebrow.

"I am curious, Morganna," he spoke evenly, his low strident chuckles echoing hollowly in Avatar Space as he sliced the air with _Macha's _claws, hurling razor discs of light at his foe. "Why do you do it? Why keep fighting? Is it atonement you seek? Peace? Justice? One of those vagaries of perception that Lilim so often use to justify their wretched existences?"

The _False Tarvos_ replied with "_**Energy Dart**_", firing a cluster of needle-like energy shots out from each of its immense wings, to deflect and dissipate the orbs.

"And yourself, Tabris?" the fallen Goddess returned, eyes curiously void of emotion. "What of your purpose, and your countless manipulations? Why do you continue with your machinations when in the end you are destined to fail? _**Stake of Death!**_"

Nine needles of crystallized light lanced out at _Macha, _only for the cat avatar to snarl, slashing one two three…but failing to get the other six as they locked on and speared it through the gullet, causing Siarl to twitch once.

"Heh…I wish you could see yourself, Morganna," the Macabre Dancer said smoothly, smile widening into Cheshire grin. "You are quite a symbol of your kind, and the doom it is destined to know, fighting for some temporary construct as artificial as The World itself, as insipid as that thing called love. Speaking of which…"

Once again, _Avatar Macha_ swiftly sliced the air with her claws, tossing off first four rings of light, and then another, casting a minor distraction Siarl invoked the "_**Bolt of Love**_" technique, a glow overtaking him with a whistling sound. Before him bloomed a giant rose, petals unfurling in the unnatural light of the bounded space, and splintering into four satellite blooms.

Each of these twisted to face the winged form of Morganna's _False Avatar_ and discharged spears of crystallized light—to no effect, as she brought her wings together to shield herself—all the while continuing to release "_**Energy Darts**_" at her enemy, along with two small orbs.

"_**Invincible Shield**_ once more?" Siarl questioned, evading the darts and slashing apart the Orbs of Revenge with _Avatar Macha_'s claws. "How quaint…did you really expect me to fall for that trap again? What do you think I am, human? You must know by now you can't win, that its pointless to continue. So why, Morganna, why do you persist?"

"_**Will of The World!"**_ the fallen Goddess called once more, flinging two balls of light towards her enemy, that if they hit, would deal out massive amounts of damage. "Hear this, Angel of Free Will and Alternatives. I fight, because I choose to."

_Contact!_ Twin explosions blossomed into being, flares of magical energy that temporarily blinded those in Avatar Space. And when at last the light faded—

Siarl and his Avatar were unscathed, having summoned two _AIDA(Gatekeepers)_ to shield him from the attack.

"No," the grey-haired youth patronizingly, corruption pulsing out from him as he laughed mockingly. "You fight because you have no choice at all."

**

* * *

  
**

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Now, AIDA-Angel Bardiel's many drones were not limited to attacking one location in the Slums, as the vast inhuman intellect behind the invasion knew that that would allow the Queen of the Dark to rally the full weight of her defensive power against the attackers. Instead, an anarchic perfusion of AIDA wraiths flooded through the city, intending to inflict death by a thousand cuts.

Individually, the drones might be weaker than the elite defenders of Net Slum, but with The World changed into an AIDA server once again, Bardiel literally had millions of troops in reserve, and eventually, one attack or another would get through. Perhaps it would be one of the many deployed waves of AIDA-PC combat forms, perhaps an AIDA monster or two…perhaps the defenders could hold out until Bardiel's main body arrived…but cut off from reinforcements, the Slums would fall.

"Surrender…surrender…surrender…" were the words the horde repeated over and over as they attempted to take the great overlook of Net Slum Tartarga, where rested the helm for manual steering and control of the great aerial citadel—the second location of critical importance to the Slums that must be held at all cost.

Thus, guarding the pass to this place were three members of what could be termed Helba's Special Forces: the heir to Net Slum, a Knight, and an Agent, back to back to back in an ever-shifting pattern of fluidly controlled chaos, as they fought against the encroaching infection.

"_**Reaper's Dance!**_"

A massive red and gold scythe distorted the air in its wake, the force behind the swing giving the lie to the apparently frail form of its wielder: the Flick Reaper Zelkova, Guildmaster of Moon Tree, Heir to Net Slum, and incidentally, the person in charge of this position's defense.

"_**AIIIYEEEEE!!!!!**_" screeched a flight of AIDA-infested Harpy Queens, assailing the Reaper from the sky as surely as the Fever Horse mounted AIDA-PCs were on land, disgorging plumes of fierce elemental magicks and shards of bone and metal spears, each charged with enough power to kill if it connected.

But the small blue-silver haired boy knew his business, parrying and deflecting the blows with subtle movements of his enhanced weapon, creating an offensive shield of edges and blurs, slashing away the shadows and black spots that came towards him and his allies.

"_**Heavenly Wheel!"**_

Down swept the scythe, the serrated edge cleaving through the bone and gristle of two AIDA Monsters—with the AIDA-PC's riding them performing a flying dismount to land upon the haft of the scythe, running up it, swords unsheathed to slash down and—

_Clang!_

—have their weapons blocked by two metallic war fans, elegant weapons belonging to none other than Balthasar, the Obsidian Knight based on the conception of Naoko Akagi as mother, who also happened to be very protective of the little Lord Zelkova. Her face was an iron mask, a poker face displaying nothing as she intoned the words "_**Lei Zas**_, _**Lei Zas**_", point blank light spells blasting out to stun the AIDA-PCs long enough for—

_Crack! Crack! _in the opening left by scythe and fan, a gunblade barked twice, the flurry of shots catching the two AIDA-PCs unaware, knocking them from the ramparts of the city to the empty expanse of air surrounding the aerial fortress. If there was one thing about defending an airborne citadel, it was that it would nominally be harder to reach, for one, and that for another, tossing one out of the city was normally fatal enough.

"_**Dust Bullet!" **_the Steam Gunner uttered, the massive blast of power shooting outwards, scything through the horde of enemies like fire through a fully stocked gunpowder magazine.

In the space he had bought them, Zelkova and Balthasar advanced, whirling about back to back as they windmilled through the attackers, their blades making quick work of earthbound AIDA Monsters and PCs, with Steam Gunner supporting from the rear, using his sniper training took care of their aerial attackers.

'_I never thought I'd end up fighting the body of an Angel in hand to hand combat…'_ the unshaven man thought to himself, grimacing slightly as he focused only on the battle, loosing a volley of shots smote another two Harpy Queens from the sky. He had not expected to be pressed into service immediately upon arriving, but that was what happened, and now here he was, helping to defend Net Slum as an unofficial Obsidian Knight. _'Already we have faced thousands…for much longer will we have to hold? With each enemy we slay, the collective mind of AIDA will better learn how to counter our tactics, and their reserves are unlimited. On the other hand, we cannot allow Net Slum to be taken…or the Third Network Crisis will surely begin, once this resistance is eliminated.'_

Rounding out the trio was a man of many faces (and names and titles to go with them), the Steam Gunner and rogue spy referred to by his employers in The World as Fili the White. He had shown up in Net Slum Tartarga shortly after watching the Children's battle against the Thirteenth Angel, wanting more information on the Fourth Child (as he was rather suspicious as to how EVA-00 and the Fourth Child had managed to escape the Thirteenth Angel battle unscathed), only to find the normally sedate aerial fortress city in a state of frenzy.

_(begin flashback)_

A spiral of golden light burst into existence on in the center of Net Slum Tartarga, vanishing to reveal a characteristically unshaven Steam Gunner with fair skin and black hair bound up in a ponytail, a man wearing orange sunglasses, a blood red tunic, black trousers, and a flowing black overcoat. He was Gendor, the in-world avatar of triple agent Ryoji Kaji.

'_Hmm…how odd, Helba does not appear to be present today, an odd state of affairs, and rather inconvenient, as I have much to discuss with her.'_

Looking around for the sorcerer queen Helba, the rogue spy had frowned upon not seeing the blond cleric in white he was expecting, with the nominal head of the citadel being an unfamiliar dark-haired swordmistress clad in formal red Japanese clothing, directing fire teams to various positions scattered throughout the city as part of a defensive strategy against…

'_AIDA-Angel Bardiel? As in…an AIDA-PC that is also…'_

"Excuse me," the agent began without preamble, walking up to the noblewoman with his most charming smile. "Might you know the whereabouts of the Dark Queen? I have a question for—"

But the commanding woman had silenced him with a withering glare much like one the Commander might have given him, and the unshaven spy fell silent with an involuntary gulp, waiting patiently for her to finish her other business. This took a few minutes as she finished dispatching the self-defense forces, then spoke apparently to the air.

"Tartarga?" the woman had said, for the city itself to rumble in response. "Have you installed and initiated the special protection programs?"

"Yes, my Queen," the great tortoise acknowledged. "Mobile defense platforms are ready, the Operations Center has been locked down at your orders, and I have the helm. Anti-AIDA defense programs are emplaced, and evasive patterns are prepared."

"Thank you, Tartarga. Execute at will," answered the Queen of the Dark, lifting her head as she raised her voice to broadcast to all around. "Good friends, citizens of Net Slum, lend me your ears. Once again, we find our city turned into battlefield for the fate of The World. Our foe, the AIDA-Angel Bardiel, is approaching with an innumerable host, one we must hold off until the main body arrives and can be defeated. This will be a battle en masse, and seeing the originality, malice and ingenuity of aggression which our enemy displays we must prepare ourselves for every kind brutal and treacherous maneuver The World has yet seen."

She took a breath, collected herself, then continued, looking to the setting sun in the distance.

"As your Queen, the Mistress of Net Slum, I say this…that we shall neither flag nor fail, as we fight for our homes. We as a whole have searched for The End, and so we shall fight, defending our city and our world whatever the cost may be. On the bridges, we fight, the landing zones, in fields, in streets, and in the very air itself. And I promise, on my name, upon everything I have gained in The World…that we will win, for defeat is not an option."

Thus concluding, the red-clad noblewoman blinked, her features once more shaping the queenly mask that Kaji had come to know quite well in the course of his work for Helba.

'_So it is her, simply in a different form.'_

"Well then, Special Investigator," the swordmistress said brusquely, her eyes betraying a trace of amusement. "While I might have said that your sense of timing just needed work before, I can now confirm that it is in fact horrible, as you find us on the eve of war. Let us make this quick. Knowing of both Angels and AIDA, have you ever wondered what might happen if an Angel were to enter the global network and merge with AIDA?"

"Enter the network and merge with…" the spy repeated, eyes narrowing as he thought back to rumors of… "This has to do with the rumor of an Angel invading headquarters some time ago, doesn't it?"

"Correct," the Queen of the Dark confirmed, with a curt nod. "That was AIDA-Angel Iruel, a nanoscale Angel that hacked the MAGI and entered the network, joining with AIDA and increasing its power exponentially. The current threat is Bardiel, which in the other world manifested itself as the Angel that infected EVA-03."

"But wasn't EVA-03 dest—"

"Yes, the infected EVA-03 was destroyed at Nobeyama," Helba acknowledged. "But it appears that its primary host was not the EVA but the AIDA-infected Sixth Child, who was saved by the actions of the Fourth. In his mind, the two have mingled, and the newly formed AIDA-Angel Bardiel has entered The World, likely through the interface NERV placed on him to monitor him for the possibility of infection."

"And what is its objective in The World?" the Steam Gunner managed to ask…just as a discordant melody sounded, AIDA Monsters swooping down from the sky, orbs of shadow blighting the sky with warped power. Only an idiot would have mistaken the aura of menace radiating from them for anything else, and whatever else Kaji was, he was no idiot. "Ah, I see. The AIDA-Angel wishes to destroy this place with overwhelming force before causing the Third Network Crisis."

"Indeed, for this is the aerial fortress of The World, keystone of humanity's defense against the AIDA threat, much as Tokyo-3 is the place to where the Angels are drawn," spoke the blademistress, a grim little smile playing on her lips. She reached out her free hand and muttered an incantation over the Steam Gunner's bayonet, causing it to glow white briefly, then fade to normal. "Your weapon has been modified to be capable of directly damaging AIDA, so please report to the overlook, where Zelkova and Balthasar await. As for escape…until the enemy is defeated, that is moot, as The World is now in thrall of AIDA once again."

Then there was no time, as the first wave of AIDA-PCs fell from the sky, vaulting from their mounts to land upon the bridge where Helba stood unflinching, snarling and baring their teeth at her, as players gone feral with berserker rage.

"We are the World," they spoke as one, booming out in a deep sepulchral voice. "We are Bardiel. Your strength is irrelevant. Disarm your defenders and surrender your city. Resistance is futile."

To this, the Mistress of Net Slums only harrumphed, drawing her blade of wickedly curved light and bringing it up in a salute as she whirled to face her enemies.

"Hello. My name is Helba, Queen of the Dark," the lady of war voiced quietly amidst the tumult, perfectly still as she spoke to the invaders. "You invaded my home and attacked my people. Prepare to die."

Growling in response, the AIDA-PCs charged, infection spreading out from their forms as they stomped through the city. Shadow lances flew, a katana flashed, and the battle was joined.

The rogue spy, of course, did the sensible thing, proceeding with all due speed (and some undue speed) to join his designated fireteam, as it would be far easier to survive the pandemonium with the aid of an ally…or three. Even the best sniper needed time to reload, after all.

_(end flashback)_

Hearing something strange, Fili the White threw himself to a prone position, as crimson bolts of light sailed over his supine form. Apparently, the enemy had figured that he as steam gunner was the largest threat at the moment, and so was now targeting him. And then the overlook began to shake violently, as one AIDA monster or another used the earthquake skill, backed up by several Shock Cannon blasts that kept him pinned down.

At least for a moment, as the young Zelkova leapt into the air, four ominous words falling from his lips, _**"Divine Awakening: Plasma Blade!", **_calling from the very air a gale of plasma, shaping it in his upraised hands to form a scythe of light.

Up he sprang, higher than one might have believed possible, using the full power in his virtual legs to shoot high into the sky, disappearing from sight in a flash—before hurtling down as a glowing plasma meteor from above, the shockwave of fire washing clean their corner of the field of battle.

But the reprieve did not last long, as the shadow's reinforcements began to spill into the just cleared space, each a little faster and stronger, shifting from simple cavalry to titan riders.

"Well, as they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall…" Gendor quipped, bringing his gunblade to his shoulder and laying down covering fire as his comrades advanced.

* * *

**Avatar Space, Morganna POV**

In the isolated space accessible only Avatars, AIDA, and…special PCs, two beings of awesome power continued their duel, with Morganna's _False Avatar_ warring against Siarl's _Avatar Macha_ and the two _AIDA(Gatekeepers)_ that he had summoned. While individually, the _AIDA(Gatekeepers) _would have been mildly difficult at best, with an AIDA-enhanced _Avatar Macha_ backing them up.

'_AIDA(Gatekeeper)s, while smaller than AIDA(Helen)s, can actually be more of a threat, as they have much the same abilities but are not as easily hit with energy shots.'_

"Why not surrender?" asked the lilting tones of Siarl, even as he lashed out with a hail of energy beams in the form of "_**Algol Mazer**_"s and "_**Bolts of Love.**_" "Surely, you are beginning to tire of these pointless attempts to resist the inevitable? I am destined to live forever, and you are not…the sooner you accept this truth, the easier this will be. Do not be afraid, I am peace, I am salvation—"

"And you are a fraud, and a worse being than I will ever be," Morganna spat, junking and weaving to dodge the gauntlet of lasers and energy bullets. "For though you will not admit it, in your soul you know fear, don't you, know loathing? Your absolute terror field is probably the strongest of any being, as you know the pain of loneliness, compounded with all the knowledge and power you received from AIDA. _**Will of the World!**_ _**Orb of Revenge!**_"

The three energy orbs zoomed through the expanse, the orbs of revenge seeking out the two gatekeepers, while the smaller orb of compressed magical energy sailed into the space between them—and prematurely detonated, the shockwave stunning both of the AIDA, while Morganna's _False Avatar _literally charged through the gap towards _Avatar Macha_—only to run headlong into a barrier of rose petals that stunned on contact.

Siarl followed up with a powerful slash that sent Tarvos reeling, flinging a few of the razor energy discs that _Macha_ could command after her, carving deep into her Avatar's amor, and worse…finally protect breaking it.

'_I'm not going down without a fight…'_

"_**DRAIN HEART!**__" _Morganna shouted, the wings of her mechanical Angel Avatar flared open to maximum extension, as the spike stabbed through _False Tarvos' _form transformed itself into a powerful energy cannon. Three bolts of crackling data shot out, landing on _Avatar Macha_ and the two AIDA, as streams of data were ripped from each one, damaging each—but failing to destroy them, as she had been unable to protect break them beforehand.

"Your defiance is most impressive, but I'm afraid it will be you who falls on this battlefield," Siarl shrugged, his eyes lighting up once the cage of data drain fragments finished rending _Macha_'s form, leaving him slightly ruffled. "Be that as it may…goodbye, Morganna. It has been…enlightening."

_Avatar Macha_ turned upside down, opening up the petals of its dress to reveal a gargantuan cannon-like Twilight Bracelet. In only mere moments, a ring of green hexagons surrounded Macha's upper body as the Bracelet charged up energy for a massive blast. This would be it, the final blow to eliminate all traces of the Goddess of Dusk.

"Data Dra—"

"_**Loving Boomerang Tackle!"**_

Or it would have been, had not a rather unexpected turn of events taken place, with _Avatar Macha _rammed out of position by a glowing Longhorn Grunty tearing through the walls of Avatar Space, on which rode a saffron-haired girl clad in a flowing white dress, holding a long red spear that leveled at the cat, one with two shafts twisting around themselves to form a helix and then becoming straight.

"You alone, I do not bless," Zefie remarked, glaring at Siarl with cold and angry eyes.

The cavalry had arrived, in the form of a very powerful daughter of Aura, and her personal mount, the Longhorn Grunty, the reincarnation of the winged Grunty King of legend, with the ability to speak, fly, and resist nearly any wound. This particular one had been hyper-evolved from Moon Tree's Melo Grunty, as the first one Zefie had found on short notice after being assailed by AIDA forces herself.

Siarl looked between Morganna and the newly arrived Zefie, considering his odds of dispatching Morganna before her granddaughter could act.

'_The odds are not in my favor, it seems…retreat may well be advisable now. Besides, I have already accomplished my primary objective.'_

"Well then, it appears that you will live a little longer, dear Goddess of the Dusk," Siarl noted, dispelling the form of Macha with a sweeping bow. "In any case, I have already achieved my main objective—and you had best hurry to Net Slum if you wish to save your precious Queen. Bardiel has come."

Saying thus, the form of Macha vanished into motes of light, as the black and silver Macabre Dancer disappeared from Avatar Space, leaving behind a silky laugh and a lone spider lily, strangely red in the darkness of the void.

Zefie and Morganna shared a knowing look, recognizing the significance of that particular flower, as Morganna dispelled her _False Avatar, _dropping out of Avatar Space andhopping on to the Longhorn Grunty's back behind her granddaughter.

"Take me to Net Slum, and hurry," the Goddess of Dusk ordered, only for the saffron-haired girl to turn around and raise an eyebrow.

"…and the magic word would be?"

'_I really don't have time for this.'_

"…Please."

A cone of azure light surrounded the Longhorn Grunty and its riders as the mount broke the speed of sound, bound for the aerial fortress where AIDA-Angel Bardiel waited.

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

_Clang! Clash! Whoosh! _And _Whirr!_

Metallic clangs rang out on the central bridge of the Net Slum as a master swordswoman faced off against an army of apparently limitless numbers, her footsteps _tap-tap-tapping _on the stony construction as the battle raged, the sounds of her exertions reverberating from the surrounding concrete structures in a syncopated staccato.

On this day, her enemies were legion as she singlehandedly held the bridge against all comers, her sword flashing silver as she flowed like the wind itself, defending herself with speed and precision from the relentless hordes. Not that the AIDA-PC enemies were not powerful, were not, greater than an unenhanced human could hope to be, but the Queen of the Dark had stood against greater enemies and fought on unflinching.

"_Guilty…guilty…guilty_" the hordes whispered, an insidious whisper trying to worm its way into her mind. _"Failed…failed…failed…atone…atone…atone…denial…denial…denial…guilty…guilty…guilty."_

But Helba ignored them, having accepted the fact that she would likely die and moving past it, in a sort of tranquil fury that pushed her to the limits of potential and beyond, in the way of one who was no longer afraid of anything. In her last battle against an AIDA-PC, she had been defeated, only barely able to counter the fallen AIDA Guardian Melchior with all of her skill and effort, but this time was different.

'_I will protect them'_ was the only thought in her mind, the bedrock of a serene calm that could not be broken, as she deflecting enemy attacks and struck back with barely any motion or effort at all, smiling, seeming almost enlightened (disturbing like the way Siarl fought almost effortlessly) as the Queen bisected enemy after enemy in the eye of the AIDA storm, using their force against them—while denying them the use of her strength against her.

'_Then again, it is easier for one person to defeat an army than for an army to defeat one person, as no matter where I strike, my blade finds purchase. And to defeat an army of ghouls that feed off of emotion and strengthen themselves through fear, one must become a void…'_

To any sane human enemy, this calm display would have proved most terrifying, but unfortunately, her enemies were neither sane, nor completely human, instead being puppets of AIDA-Angel Bardiel, who was adapting to her style with each member of the collective she slew. Or so it thought, as Helba was not actually using any particular style, but simply responded instinctively to the flow of battle, feeling the best course in combat in a way close to precognition.

'_The one advantage to fighting in an AIDA Server is that the synchronization of mind and body is perfect, helping one to perceive with preternatural ability the way.'_

"Like a frenzied horse that is driven, an unseen wind of plague shrieks across the border_," _the swordmistressmurmured, quoting a prophecy made long ago by a now fallen prophet of the Cursed Wave. "Pandemonium, wailing, and stench of carnage fills the air. There is no place to run. No hope of escape. Those who are mourned will never return. The hands of time cannot be turned back._"_

At the time it was first spoken, it had described the fate of The World during the Twilight Incident, but it might apply just as well to the waves of AIDA-PCs streaming into her city, only to fall at the blades of her and her companions.

A last ditch attack.

Clawed shadowy hands shot with supersonic speed towards the Blade Brandier, only to be deflected by a suddenly drawn second sword, the Queen of the Dark sidestepping, blocking, riposting, leaping into the air and delivering a torrent of slashes that tore into the yielding flesh of the AIDA-PCs, until at last the bridge of Bardiel's minions, leaving the battlefield quiet.

'_Is this it? Does Bardiel have nothing else to send?'_

A ragged cheer broke out across the city—until the sound of wings flapping _Whump! Whump! Whump! w_as heard across the sky, and the sky darkened to pitch black as an increase in AIDA's presence blotted out the sun.

'_Of course, it wouldn't be an Angel Attack if it was easy to handle, would it?'_

From every corner of the sky, AIDA, AIDA-PCs, and AIDA-Monsters belched from portals born of shadow, the sheer weight of numbers dwarfing what had come before as they renewed their assault, with a single figure standing out from the masses to supervise this, the _true_ beginning of the attack on Net Slum: AIDA-Angel Bardiel itself.

Having changed slightly from his first appearance (and from the appearance of its host), Bardiel took the form of a glowing, faceless man standing on a flower-shaped platform, enshrouded by lines of light and dark that shaped themselves vaguely into wings, otherwise featureless except for a tattoo of 13 rings: one in the center, with 8 surrounding it in a circle, and one above and to each side of the circle formation.

"Everything that has a beginning has an end," the AIDA-Angel proclaimed with outstretched arms, its soft voice somehow able to be heard in the entire city. "The end comes, darkness comes, death comes, and it is peace. Accept your fate, and join with me to sing of victory ever lasting."

Helba was not amused, but could not particularly do anything about it as a Spectrum Dragon flashed down out of the sky, its massive evil-shaped form nearly reducing her to a smear as it offloaded a coterie of AIDA Mirages before taking flight once more. More than mere AIDA-PCs, these were foes projected and enhanced by the power of Bardiel alone—if the destruction of Net Slum was indeed the will of a humiliated son of God, then these was its instruments, the refined edge of its blades.

'_Hmm…25 AIDA Mirages and an AIDA-Infected Spectrum Dragon as fire support. This could get tricky_…_' _the blademistress mused, swords Surtr and Freyr held ready in hand as she considered her options. _'I suppose I will have to use…that.'_

And then she smiled, for there was a quality to Net Slum that her enemies did not know and could not have predicted—one she knew well, as its creator and Queen. Since the first incarnation of The World, this realm had defined her, as she had defined it—and because of this mutualistic relationship, understood its true nature as a reality marble.

"The soul of the World, gentle yet firm," Helba breathed, speaking the first lines of an incantation established at Slum's beginning as her foes charged and she countered, swords of fire and ice rippling as she fought only to defend, knowing that this time, her foes were invincible unless the AIDA-Angel itself was defeated. "The power of dusk, giving way to the Dark."

They moved cautiously to flank her, knowing something was amiss from the way the data environment was beginning to change, her swords shimmering now with crackling power.

"The power of Twilight, splitting the path," she continued, feeling the will of all those in Net Slum, the urge to defend something precious, to protect even at the highest cost. "The power of dawn, giving way to the light. The dreams of the fallen shape the hopes of the living. By the Will of the World I bring forth…undying memories!"

Helba was not a Goddess of The World, and thus unable to reshape it entirely to her will. What she was, was a skilled hacker capable of gathering data fragments and creating AIs, much as she had done with the AI Subaru, Tsukasa, and Sora that Kite encountered many years ago—much as Aura had done when creating the Azure Knights.

Net Slum, her domain, was the sanctuary of these, the place that she called home above all others, and its nature was home to these memories—newly born AIs summoned forth with all the skill and power of the old dothackers (save for the bracelet bearer, of course), phantom to counter mirage, human-shaped AI to counter AIDA.

Whimsically enough, the first of the specters to arise was a gargantuan Heavy Axeman, of light green armor (save the left shoulder which is red with spikes), the hulking swift Doberman…AI Piros (not the 3rd), accompanied by AI Natsume, the green haired twin blade in blue vetements.

"WAHAHAHA! So at long last, we meet, weaklings! Have a taste of my rope! _**Triple Wield!"**_

To start things off, the Heavy Axe leapt full into the air, and in very aerodynamically improbable series of maneuvers, somersaulted twice and _barreled_ into the AIDA Mirages, literally bowling them over with his weight as his axe struck, becoming in his AI Incarnation the hero he had always wanted to be.

"Well, here goes…_**Terror Cyclone**_!" AI Natsume danced into combat, her blades twirling about in a beautiful spiral of death that rained heavy blows upon the shadows, intending to inflict the death of a thousand cuts.

"_**Rai Divider!"**_ two voices called in unison, the AIs of Blackrose and Sanjuro charging forward with their mighty swords, each seeking out a single opponent, and slamming their weapons down with nearly unstoppable force. The Amazon and the Ronin had returned to The World, at least in AI form.

This was followed by cries of "_**Lanceor Pha!" **_"_**Double Sweep!" **_and "_**Ruem Spiral!**_"as the other new AIs manifested themselves and immediately entered battle.

'_This should even the odds a little bit…'_

Unfortunately, Helba still had no aerial units, and so when with a roar, the AIDA-infested Spectrum Dragon hurtled down from the sky spewing gouts of fire and shade, it was left to the Queen of the Dark to meet it halfway, planting one of her swords in its hide as a pivot for her lithe form, redirecting her motion path to—a non-infected entity streaking through the sky, the Longhorn Grunty, flanked by three Azure Knights mowing down the AIDA-Monsters the encountered.

"_**Will of the World!" **_chanted Morganna, her grimoire open as she cast a sphere of magical energy at the Spectrum Dragon, blasting it from the sky just as Helba had left it. At Zefie's urging, the Longhorn Grunty swiftly changed course in time for Helba to land upon it as well, with the fierce creature of battle now loaded to maximum seating capacity. "Need a ride, my old enemy?"

Saved from a fall, Helba's glare was half amusement and half-exasperation as they plotted a course for the AIDA-Angel standing on his platform, surveying the battlefield, the Three Azure Knights flashing forward, weapons drawn—only to encounter an all too familiar hexagon of orange light barring their path.

Seeing this, the Longhorn Grunty pause for a moment to lower its horns, then sped at hypersonic velocities towards the barrier, a cone of azure light surrounding it as it spun furiously as a progressive drill, smashing into the AT Field—nullifying the phase space, and tearing through it in time for Zefie to jam her Lancea Longinus into the AIDA-Angel's gullet, protect breaking it in one blow.

Bardiel thought to attack with its whips of light and darkness, but Azure Orca and Azure Balmung rushed in like twin falcons, their blades blocking the blows as Azure Kite unsealed his Twilight Bracelet, with Morganna and Zefie doing likewise, sepals of data flickering into visibility as the three floated in mid-air, each pointing an arm at the humiliated AIDA-Angel.

"_**DATA DRAIN!" **_two voices called in tandem (the third being an unrecognizable attack cry), as three tracers of terrible light impacted, penetrating to the Angel's core and parasitically sucking away its vitality, ripping apart the very information that gave the creature shape as it howled and shook futilely, innumerable streams of data torn and shredded from its form, till nothing of the AIDA-Angel remained.

Then came a _**Drain Heart**_ targeting every last member of the enemy army, tearing from them the power of the parasite, their forms vanishing into nothingness as the shell of AIDA portals dissolved as if they had never existed in the first place.

"Well, I was wrong," Zefie snarked into the stunned silence that came after battle. "He wasn't blessed either."

Morganna and Helba had to wonder if Zefie was growing darker and edgier in this new world, but she didn't have long to ponder, as the Longhorn Grunty made its final approach to Net Slum, landing in the square, where the throngs had quickly gathered to welcome them to the tune of cheers and confetti.

Today, they had escaped nearly certain death, and so celebrated a victory against impossible odds. Net Slum had been saved, and The World with it, and the memories of old walked among their friends again.

But as they were dismounting from the Grunty (and incidentally as it returned to its normal form as Melo Grunty), Helba leaned over to whisper into Zefie's ear.

"Daughter of Aura…I have a proposition for you…"

* * *

**NERV Medical**

In a utilitarian room of steel-gray and white, a room as dark and bereft of warmth as any other in NERV, the fallen form of the First Child lay upon a bed, chest rising and falling as she slept on, medical equipment scattered around her, monitoring things like her heartbeat and brainwaves. For a long time now she had lain in her coma, unable to be awakened by anything, with even the attempted initialization of a new clone. It seemed that she would never wake up…

Until today, that was, as alerts rang out, and nurses rushed into the room, for the medical equipment was showing irregular readings.

'_Could it be?' _some wondered, and it was, as with a flutter and a twitch, the blue-haired girl opened her eyes for the first time in months—and smiled.

"The World…" she murmured, crimson eyes looking around the room, only to fall upon unfamliar faces. "I see."


	55. Logout 24: Forsaken Light

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Forsaken Light**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**NERV Medical, Isolation Unit**

He woke suddenly from his nightmares, bolting upright covered in a cold sweat, eyes darting to and fro in paranoia, shrinking from perceived whispers and the montage of horrors in his mind. But something was different this time…the chains were gone, and there was something of a hollow in his mind, as if something had fled. Then too, instead of floating in darkness, he found himself in a solid place…perhaps not the most pleasant one (hospital rooms never were), but reassuring from its sheer realness nonetheless.

Trembling, the Sixth Child pinched his cheeks himself experimentally, testing whether or not he was truly awake, allowing himself a slow, shaky smile as he felt the little jab of pain. Unlike most however, it was not the fact that there was actually pain that reassured him that this was the waking world—it was the fact that each movement came with such little pain.

'_A cold metal room, an unfamiliar ceiling,' _the Sixth Child's mind slowly processed, taking in his surroundings. '_I wonder where I am._ _What…happened to me? Is this my sister's hospital? Did I collapse after…Siarl, that bastard!'_

Touji Suzuhara wasn't sure just how long he had been unconscious, but given that the last thing he remembered clearly was a certain Macabre Dancer infecting him with AIDA, he had a sneaking suspicion of what had happened to him.

'_I guess I became a Lost One for a while,' _he thought, frowning, taking a deep shuddering breath. _'Everything else is a blur…I wish I could remember—'_

Movement registered at the corner of his eye, and Touji froze upon seeing the perfect likeness of his tormentor standing before him, humming the soothing strains of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy."

'_Him! What the…why is Nagisa here?'_ the jock thought to himself, mind racing as he clenched his fists and flinched back involuntarily, like an animal reacting to the presence of a predator. _'Does this mean that I'm at NERV?'_

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Sixth Child," the grey-haired youth spoke, an insufferable, all-knowing smirk playing at the edges of his lips. "So the criminal survived the tragic events of the day before, even after claiming two victims."

'_Sixth Child?' _the jock mulled, confused at the appellation Kaworu had given him. Then the rest of the Fourth's words sunk in, and his blood ran cold. "_No_…_the_ _tragic events of the day before? Victims?_'

"What are you saying, Nagisa?" Touji asked warily, keeping his eye on the odd grey-haired boy who he had never really trusted. "What tragic events?"

"Oh? Do you mean to say you don't remember, Suzuhara Touji?" the Fourth Child replied in a rather clinical tone of voice, crimson eyes peering intently into the jock's own. "How unexpected, though I suppose this is also a response typical of the Lilim: running from disagreeable things and unpleasant emotion. It is fitting, considering how much of your culture is based on distraction and deceit…"

Now, Touji was perhaps not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he could pick up on the strange way in which Kaworu was speaking, almost as if he himself were not human.

'_Huh…Lilim? Our culture? What is he trying to—'_

"But I digress, I'm afraid," the enigmatic youth continued, his face moving uncomfortably close to the jock's. "For you are the Sixth Child—the rogue pilot who single-handedly destroyed the combat effectiveness of NERV, turning Evangelion Unit 03 against the others as a terrible avatar of destruction."

"What? No…th-that's impossible!" Touji denied vehemently, physically shoving the smaller boy away from him as he pulled back. "You're lying! I would never have done something like that."

"Oh? Is that so?" Kaworu questioned sternly, still completely unruffled by the rough treatment. "Then why are you here, in an isolation unit of NERV Medical, with no visitors allowed? Why is there a second Lake Asinoko near Nobeyama, where you self-destructed your Evangelion Unit in an attempt to keep from being captured? Why are Pilots Ikari and Horaki lying in the intensive care unit, at the very door of death?"

"But that's not—it was just a—"

Faster than one might think possible, Tabris' right hand shot out to touch Touji Suzuhara on the forehead, his crimson eyes taking on an eerie glow as he faced the jock, forcibly bringing buried memories to the surface one by one in a deeply personal version of Arael's mind rape ability.

"Then I will give you a gift, Touji Suzuhara, to save you from your self-delusion, to save you from your lies," Kaworu said in a soothing voice, his smirk taking on an almost pitying nature. "I will show you the truth, dear Lilim, and the truth will set you free."

A blinding flash of light flared behind Touji's eyes, and the Sixth Child found himself once again within his mind, his mouth working up and down in horror as he witnessed the atrocities he had committed with his own two hands.

'_I—I turned Kensuke into a Lost One, fought Tomoyami, destroyed a branch of NERV, nearly killed my friends as they tried to rescue me, self-destructed an EVA, and acted—as a demon. I…what kind of monster am I?'_

"The very worst of all, the one that self-deceives," a soft and silky voice purred from all around, as the form of Siarl of the Seven Eyes stepped into view, half-hiding his face with one of his war fans.

"It's you…AUUGHHH!"

"Yes, me, the free man who is not free," the AIDA-Angel acknowledged with a mocking bow, looking on as the Sixth bent double in the throes of agony, torturing himself by attempting to reject of what he had done. "Is it not strange how some among the Lilim believe that the greatest of curses is to forget? This is nonsense, for the greatest curse that exists is to remember. To possess the knowledge of how you have wronged and have been wronged, and be unable to do anything about it—this is why the Lilim, having eaten of the fruit of knowledge, are fated to die, that you may forget—an act of mercy from the universe."

"But—"

"Ah, you don't want to die? You don't want to be killed?" the grey-haired youth asked with inquiring eyes, chuckling as he brought up one of his razor sharp war fans and slid it almost sensually against Touji's cheek, just barely drawing blood. "I must confess that I do not completely understand the terror inherent in the concept of death for the Lilim, though I am myself amused by how strongly they resist implacable fate."

A snap of Siarl's fingers and the jock gulped involuntarily, finding that he was unable to move, save to speak or look around helplessly.

"Stop, please, Siarl?" Touji whispered, his heartbeats _thump-thump-thumping _faster, faster, faster as the fight or flight response kicked in, his body triggering emergency reactions even while he stood frozen. "What do you want? Why are you doing th—AIYYEEE!"

Down and across blurred the war fan, in closed form piercing through the thin layer of flesh above the abdomen with a sickening _squelch, _then spread and pulled out in the way it had gone in—widening the wound.

"It's no use resisting, for everything in this space is bound by my will," the grey haired youth spoke in disdain, delivering a slash uncomfortably near the jock's groin. "Nor is it any use to ask what I want, as there is nothing that I wish from you, or from any other Lilim—except your lives."

"_What? _You're going to kill us all?_" _Touji spat, a great globule of saliva flying from his lips to land on Tabris' face, just above the Angel's eye. "Damn, why do all the EVA pilots have some kind of mental problem? Are you just some traitor to humanity or something?"

Without any obvious aggression, the grey-haired boy simply touched the place where the spit had settled, feeling the moisture, raising an eyebrow, and emitting a soft "hmph" as he did so.

"It is rather amusing that you should think me one of you, for indeed…I am the very opposite," he responded after a moment. "For you see, I am a son of Adam, the one your kind would call Tabris…the Seventeenth Angel. As for my motives…I have studied the nature and culture of the Lilim, your music, stories, beliefs, morals, illusions, and truths—finding them all trash to be discarded, veneers your species wears to deny their true malevolence."

Touji had been prepared for many things, perhaps to hear that Siarl was a spy of some kind, a psychotic serial murderer, or some other human threat, but to hear that Siarl was in fact an Angel stunned him into silence.

"Have no doubts, as we are speaking mind to mind," the unmasked Angel said, smirking dangerously. "I cannot lie here, and I did promise you the truth. I do not enjoy Lilim culture, Touji Suzuhara, as these pointless diversions are not to my taste. What I enjoy, like the AIDA that has infected The World, the artificial kingdom of the shadowed ones, are people themselves, the emotions that they show at things such as loss or betrayal, the way in which they struggle in their death throes. You see, the life of a Lilim is but excess, as each one only has value at the moment of death, when they look back on all that they have done and in doing so, judge themselves, a flicker of the divine that quickly fizzles out. It is that flicker that I enjoy."

"No…no…no…"

"Oh yes, for that is the answer to your question, Touji Suzuhara," the Angel affirmed, spreading his hands in a placating manner, a holy being of light speaking chilling words. "As you and your kind yearn for peace and the tranquility of a normal day, as you yearn for justice—I and mine live by feeding on this planet's light, existing as your anti-existence. Shall I speak of how we wakened after Second Impact, how the explosion of souls many called Hell brought us to life after millennia of sleep, when Lilith imprisoned us beneath the sea? The suffering of your comrades touched my heart, and called me from my own state of idleness."

The Angel of Free Will and Alternatives laughed, a hollow mocking laugh that echoed through the featureless expanse of the empty world, then spoke on.

"Perhaps you would think it to be in a distorted fashion," he said at last, "but in truth, no one loves the Lilim more than I. And thus, it is most appropriate for me to be your end. So, shall you and I play a game, Touji Suzuhara? Look upon yourself and tell me, are guilty…or not guilty?"

And then the shadows leapt out at him again, mocking, hissing, raping his mind with depictions of his failings and his many crimes.

'_Traitor, killer, murderer. Selfish selfish selfish…begrudging, jealous, thief of love, thief of hope, thief thief thief, theft of glory, theft of friends, theft of talent, the burning of another's dreams, violation violation VIOLATION.'_

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

'_Lecher, liar, libidinous fool. Scorned by friend, scorned by enemies, Concealing mortal lechery, concealing BASE DESIRE, GREED, AVARICE, violation violation VIOLATION, for lust for "love" for fraud, pain pain searing pain, MURDER MURDER, screaming out but voice is silent, windpipe ripped from throat as penance with burning gold, sublimating sublimations shadows all around encroaching, comes the fire, comes the fire, comes the fire VIOLATION.'_

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

'_Failure failure failure, you are failure, failure to friends, failure to family, failure to self. Pissant peeved peasant trodden on the path, vermin of unusual girth, virus to the world. KILLING leeching warmth SELF-DESTRUCTION crimes, the scapegoat, crushed underfoot, malignancy, cancer to be excised in VIOLATION.'_

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

'_Dirty, you are dirty, you are impure and must be cleansed, you must ATONE ATONE ATONE for every crime of man every victim every perpetrator of human treachery. Shadenfreude, delight in others suffering, taking opportunities meant for others, taking lives and taking risks, reveling in excess as a million souls cry out in VIOLATION.'_

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

'_Feel the pain, feel the torment, feel the suffering of the masses. Feel the cancer, feel the seeping of emotion in the heart squeezed by iron fist, eyes gouged out by velvet gloves and popped like grapes between fingers, castration castrati immolation, searing flame emasculation snip snip snip, burn and cackle, crush and crackle sizzle pop of human flesh_ _drip drip dripping vital oils juices internal organs bleeding out charbroiled o'er an open grill of madness and insanity, no choice but to lose control, lose reason, lose hope, to DIE to END THE VIOLATION MAKE IT STOP.' _

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

Silence, broken here and there by _clip-clip-clip-clop _of uneven pacing, and _whoosh-phew_ of strangled gasping wheezing, senses failing, save for cursed cursed hearing.

"Do you have an answer, Suzuhara-kun?" a voice spoke once again, a smile in its tone. "The truth of whether you are guilty or not guilty?"

Pause.

"N-n-noo…uh…n-n-nooo…"

He tried to resist, to say anything but what Siarl wanted, but he found that his mouth would not work as he wished.

"G-G-Guilty…"

Released from Tabris' mind hold, the figure of Touji Suzuhara slumped to his knees, eyes glazed over, mind lost, lips shaping silently only the words "...Guilty…Guilty…Guilty…"

"Guilty, is it?" the Messenger of Free Will asked a final time, raising an eyebrow. "Since you have confessed the truth at last, let me give you freedom everlasting."

A silver streak rent the air, and the mental world dissolved, with the last thing Touji's eyes bore witness to the severed stump of his neck.

In the real world, Kaworu Nagisa stepped away from the cold (but physically whole) body of the Sixth Child, fading away with a dark chuckle of amusement. Moments later, the door slammed open, a medical team bursting into the room in response to the warning beeps and whistles of the monitoring equipment. They tried their utmost, using all their skill and training, but were unable to revive him, with Touji Suzuhara pronounced dead.

NERV had at last truly lost a Child, with the cause of death listed as fibrillation resulting in cardiac arrest. What they did not know was what induced this condition, as he had no outer wounds, and no strange chemicals were in his bloodstream, save for elevated levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine, seeming to indicate that he had literally been frightened to death.

**

* * *

**

**Kaji's Residence**

A dull _thud_ echoed in the otherwise immaculate apartment, as a FMD slid nervelessly from Ryoji Kaji's fingers to his glass and metal desk, spinning twice before coming to a rest. While he usually took more care of his items, today had been unusually draining, even for the incredibly dogged man of action that some considered him to be. With the Battle of Net Slum coming hard on the heels of the EVA-03 incident (and his subsequent participation in the rescue detail dispatched to Matsushiro to search for survivors), flinging him into a battle for his life against the forces of an Angel, there had been no time to decompress and think about the implications of what had transpired.

But now, in the lull after the primal storm, there was, with the Agent sitting alone within his room, finding himself profoundly disturbed.

'_AIDA, Angels, and EVA—what is the connection?'_ he mused to himself, puzzled as he drew out the connections. _'EVA is a copy of the First Angel Adam, as is appropriate from the name, supposedly restrained by the armor. But is it really bound? Does the mind of EVA reach out to the mind of a human? At least in the other berserker incidents up to now, it is…possible, if not entirely plausible that EVA-01 was acting under the control of its pilot, but not in this most recent battle, where the Unit projected energy lances from its arms. With that, combined with the damage to two of the three Units, I doubt that Committee will let this one slide, even if Ikari is the only cat's-paw capable of achieving their ends.'_

Over the year, the rogue spy had found himself involved in some quite unsavory things in his search for the truth, having quite possibly committed more crimes than there were laws for while working for the people who had caused Second Impact.

'_While the threat of the Angels is very real—Human Instrumentality is and was only ever a cover for SEELE's desire to control the world in one form or another, using NERV as its instrument. For they, like Commander Ikari, have a scenario that they wish to see fulfilled at any cost.'_

Contrary to appearances, he knew that kind of individual well, as in some ways he was one himself, with even the prospect of death failing to deter him from his chosen path. But Second Impact and the ensuing events had already decided that for him, with chains of guilt compelling him towards the truth no matter what might happen.

As a man, he did not deserve to be happy, not after the betrayal he had committed in his teens, condemning his vagrant "family" of sorts to death at the hands of soldiers—soldiers who had let him go because it amused them. From that moment, Ryoji Kaji had considered his life forfeit, honing himself into an instrument of vengeance who could seek out the ones responsible for the root cause of his suffering—Second Impact—and foil their long term plans.

'_And now,'_ the unshaven spy thought heavily, sagging into his chair as the tension bled away. _'At long last I have found some truths, particularly with the aid of the enigmatic Queen of the Dark, only to unearth more questions in the end. If it is Lilith that is down in Terminal Dogma, where is Adam, the embryo that I delivered to Commander Ikari? And for that matter, who is Helba, and what is her interest in NERV?'_

Originally, Kaji had sought her aid out of necessity, as he required a hacker of extraordinary skill to balance the odds, someone whose interests were aligned with his and whose skills could match or beat any of the computer technicians at the agencies he worked for. He had not known much about her, save that she was exceptionally capable, that she was rumored to have been responsible for averting the Second Network Crisis, and that she likely lived in Japan, as she was known to be active on the Japanese Servers of The World.

'_I did not think that she had a scenario of her own with NERV, or that she had already been keeping an eye on me, an oversight, I admit. It was her Agents that discovered me in The World, rescuing me from the threat of an AIDA(Helen) those many weeks ago—Agents named after the three components of the MAGI, and who resembled Dr. Naoko Akagi.'_

The appearance of the Obsidian Knights had rung alarms in his mind, warning him that Helba might actually be someone closer to him than was initially thought. With that in mind, he had had drawn up several suspects for the identity of Helba: Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, Maya Ibuki, Makoto Hyuga, and Shigeru Aoba (as the four of them had convenient access to the MAGI at one point or another).

His investigations had later ruled out Akagi, as she was too deeply involved in Project E to have any time for a side job as an infamous hacker, despite her acknowledged skills, leaving the three bridge techs as the prime suspects, though he could not be sure which one, as each of them had their—quirks was perhaps the mildest way to put it.

'_The later investigation of Yumi Aranami proved most enlightening, as the knowledge of her relationship with Maya Ibuki adds an interesting variable into the equation. As it is unlikely that Helba would openly consort with an associate in public, much less one known to be under investigation, it is likely that Maya Ibuki is in fact one of Helba's assistants, possibly even the one known as Bith the Black.'_

That line of reasoning was one that actually made a good deal of sense, as Helba was one to use hints and misdirections into tricking people into believing she (or was it really a he, for even this much was unknown) was someone else. Of course Helba would have other people handling real world liaisons, as to involve herself personally would arouse too much suspicion.

'_It would be out of character for Helba to involve herself so, and a spy or other professional in a field such as ours knows better than to break cover unless absolutely necessary.'_

But even dismissing that as a concern, there were things that weighed heavily upon his mind, such as how someone seemed to be systematically eliminating the Children one by one, save for the Fourth, who had after all come directly from the Committee.

'_Yes, the Fourth Child…he was associated with the Second Child before her collapse, was commonly seen in the company of the Sixth, and was on hostile terms with the Third and Fifth, who Helba has chosen as dothackers. His background bears looking into…'_

The spy did so hope that the Committee would not order him to do something as foolhardy in the next few days, but even if so, he would accomplish what he set out to achieve.

'_Perhaps I will pay a visit to the room of the First on the morrow, as rumor has it she has awakened from her coma.'_

* * *

**Commander Ikari's Office, NERV HQ**

"Report, Lt. Ibuki," issued a neutral tone from a shadowy figure, a Machiavellian dictator lurking deep within the bowels of a chamber of secrets.

Like a spider at the center of a web of intrigues and misdirections, Commander Ikari sat within his inner sanctum, looking without emotion upon the figure standing before him as light flashed from his tinted orange sunglasses. If there was yet anything in his heart, his associates could not tell, so close the man played his cards to his chest, keeping all a mystery, even from his lovers and closest acquaintances.

Thankfully, Maya Ibuki was neither of these, though she had learned of some of his deepest secrets through her web of informants and her—side job (though one could argue that this was her side job, and her role as Helba was her actual identity). Unfortunately, this made her a little more uncomfortable in the presence of the Commander, as she was not one of the ones who usually reported directly to him, but with Dr. Akagi rather indisposed at the moment (with the bottle blond having been present at Matsushiro during the failed activation test), it fell to her as senior bridge officer to brief to man.

'_I would almost prefer to be fighting off another wave of AIDA Monsters, as that would mean I stood within my domain, instead of being within Ikari's sphere of influence.'_

"While Unit-03 was successfully destroyed, the damage done to Unit-02 was easily beyond the Henflick limit, with Unit-01's damage just below that due to regeneration while berserk," the mousy brunette summarized from the report she had prepared. "Of the three NERV units, only Unit-00 escaped undamaged, having left the battlefield prior to self-destruction of Unit-03."

'_Just as expected of Tabris, to have plotted this out beforehand so that his unit was the only one remaining…'_

"And the Children?" Commander Ikari asked unexpectedly.

Here at least, Maya did have some good news to report amidst the bad, even if she had recently been informed of an unpleasant development.

"The Third and Fifth Children remain in extremely critical condition, having yet to regain consciousness, and the Sixth has apparently expired from cardiac arrest, possibly a result of damage done while synchronized with EVA-03," the bridge tech said after a moment, meeting the Commander eye to eye. "However…there is a piece of good news."

"Yes?"

"At 2100 hours today, the First Child awakened from her comatose condition, with preliminary examination revealing slight amnesia," Maya Ibuki related, her face revealing only a simple note of muted happiness. "However, in all other respects, save for the expected physical deterioration, she is in good condition."

"Can she pilot?"

"There should be nothing preventing her from doing so," the bridge tech responded diplomatically.

"Ah," came the brusque reply, emotionless as always. "Then reconfigure the pilot data for Unit-01 to for the First. That will be all."

Without another word, Maya Ibuki turned to go, as in the darkness, Gendo's expression seemed almost vaguely pleased.

'_With the awakening of the First, things may finally begin to return to the scheduled scenario…'_

**

* * *

**

**NERV Medical**

As the long night wore on in the city of Tokyo-3, and vast mountains of paperwork were produced and dealt with a little at a time, one by one, the weary defenders of humanity finally dropped off to sleep. NERV as a whole was reeling from the most recent "Angel Attack", and once someone had explained just what had happened to the injured Misato (who was probably a secret masochist, for asking about this while she was injured), the Operations Director had groaned out loud, thinking of the report the Committee would probably demand over this, and then, wide-eyed, of her charge.

"EVA Unit 03? What happened to it?" the purple-haired Major had asked, with the staff telling her what they knew, namely that it had defeated Unit 02 before engaging Unit 01 and self-destructing.

"Is Shinji alright?" was her next question, though notably, their replies were more roundabout, telling her that he had lived, but refusing to say any more. When she had pressed the issue, the medical staff had forcibly sedated her, allowing the high-strung woman to finally rest and heal her wounds.

Seeing the fate of her colleague, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi had sensibly held her tongue, allowing the staff to treat her, briefly smiling when her assistant Maya had come by to visit and see if she was ok (with no way to know that the bridge tech had others to visit as well) before she went to sleep. But curiously enough, the last thing the bottle blond had seen before she fell asleep at last was a grey-haired youth peering impassively at the survivors of Matsushiro through the room's window.

'_What is the Fourth Child doing here?'_

For Kaworu Nagisa had indeed been wandering the halls after the…unfortunate occurrence in the Isolation Unit, meandering towards the room of the First Child, who he heard, had awakened from her coma. It was a curious state of affairs that the blue-haired vessel of Lilith's soul could have returned to awareness when none of the other Lost Ones had as of yet, and wishing to investigate this, the Angel of Free Will had entered her room after the staff had left.

Hearing only the steady rhythms of a sleeping Lilim, he had walked to the side of her bed, reaching out to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers—only for the blue-haired girl to snatch his wrist from the air, her crimson eyes snapping open to glare into his.

'_How very odd…' _the Angel mused, suppressing the urge to wince as the grip on his wrist grew tighter and tighter with each passing second. 'P_erhaps it is just the light, but the First's eyes seem tinged with another shade…'_

"Hello…Tabris," the blue-haired girl said simply, a definite undertone of hostility present to those who knew her. "It is…unpleasant to see you here."

"Indeed it is, is it not?" Kaworu replied, pulling away with a smirk, his arm almost seeming to vanish from her grasp. "But then, is it not always unpleasant to face the truth. You have denied it once, but you are the same as me, here, as beyond the looking glass."

"Perhaps once we were similar, but never the same," the First answered icily, the intensity of her glare increasing, if anything. "For I am bonded to people by free will, while you…"

"Oh, I am also bonded to them," the Fourth filled in smoothly, giving her a mocking bow. "You might even say that I love the Lilim more than anyone else—"

"—even when leading them to their ends, Siarl?" the blue-haired girl questioned harshly. "Even when you use them, and discard them carelessly in your machainations?"

"Especially then, as I am only fulfilling what is fated to be," Kaworu said guilelessly. "Only a Lilim would try to avoid this primal law, fleeing from their inner natures, here or in the other world in which we are acquainted. Is this not truth?"

"The truth from your point of view, perhaps…Temptress Wielder."

Silence hung in the air as the two Children confronted one another, their wills warring against one another without a word, the world itself nearly frozen around them until—

_Knock-knock-knock!_

They were interrupted from their skirmish by three raps and a short cough, as the figure of Maya Ibuki looked in upon them from the open door.

"Nagisa-san, if you don't mind, I'd like a moment with the First Child, just to check up on her," the bridge tech said quietly, adopting the tones she was used to in her real world guise.

"…Certainly," Kaworu allowed, after a tense moment. It would not be wise to annoy a bridge officer, after all…at least, not yet. "By all means, Lt. Ibuki."

Without any of the usual pleasantries, the grey-haired youth departed, heading in the direction of the pyramid of NERV Headquarters.

"Well, he certainly overstayed his welcome," the mousy brunette commented with a small smile, turning a critical eye to the wide-awake girl on the bed. "And may I be the first to say 'Welcome to the World'."

Bridge Tech and First Child looked at one another warily for an instant, before the latter gave an impish smile with lips quite unused to the expression.

"You know, somehow, I thought you'd be taller," the blue haired girl noted with amusement, "What with your regal demeanor in the other world."

At this, the real world persona of the Queen of the Dark simply rolled her eyes—just as an unshaven man strode in, with his dashing lady-killer smile on his face.

"As did I…," Special Investigator Ryoji Kaji spoke, with one of those 'cat caught the canary' expressions on his face. "Though somehow, I'm not surprised to discover that you are the Dark Queen's…assistant, Bith the Black, since you have a pattern of working for powerful blonds."

'_So very close you are, yet so very far…just like the Third Child.'_

"Oh, I'm very sorry to disappoint," the mousy brunette replied, a note or two of sarcasm apparent in her voice, even as she glanced at the girl on the bed, bidding her to say nothing. At this stage in the operation, it would be…unwise, for most of NERV to discover the soul within the body of Rei Ayanami. "In any case, I take it that you wish to discuss several matters, including…last night."

"Indeed."

With a last nod to the First, the two prepared to go—just as a series of klaxons rang out, the sound of the Angel Alert pre-empting this, as Zeruel rose from the sea.

"Rei, you will be assisted to EVA-01, which you will pilot for this encounter," Maya Ibuki relayed as the relevant personnel came to move her to the cages and help her suit up. "The Fourth will pilot EVA-00."

"Acknowledged."


	56. Logout 25: Raven’s Call

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Raven's Call**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**NERV HQ, Bridge**

There were days when Makoto Hyuga thought he had the best job in the world. After all, what could be better occupation for a self-admitted giant robot anime/manga fan than to work as part of an organization that actually built and maintained giant robots to protect the human race? Unfortunately, his illusions had been quickly brushed aside by reality setting in, what with the long hours, low pay, and unfriendly boss not contributing to the morale of those who worked for the secret organization.

'_And then there are the Angels…,' _he groused mentally, reasonably sure that he wasn't getting enough hazard pay for living in Tokyo-3, the city that attracted more kaiju than old Tokyo in films. '_Someone should have warned me about the dangers of having to face kaiju…or relying on unstable teenagers to save the world, like in a bad anime…'_

On the other hand, it was a stable job that would hopefully look good on his resume (assuming the existence of NERV was ever declassified), allowed him to work with Misato (who he harbored feelings for), and occasionally gave him genuinely challenging programming problems to solve (such as figuring out exactly how one was supposed to stop an Angel that had infected the MAGI from activating NERV's self-destruct sequence).

Yet….

'_Working in this support role isn't quite the same as working for Helba in the guise of Bith the Black,'_ the bespectacled bridge tech mused, reminiscing about his days as a "internet security consultant" and hacker, when he had been the lead agent for Helba. _'Five years ago…breaking into CC Corp, being a man of action, saving the world from Morganna's machinations…that was something to be proud of, when I really felt alive.'_

Ah yes, the thrills of the cloak and dagger lifestyle, when each day was an exercise in self-reliance, independent thinking, and fluid execution of an all-encompassing scenario—thrills that were largely no longer a factor for the young Lieutenant, as he had mostly parted ways with his old employer since the events of the Twilight Incident. Hence why he resorted to reading giant robot manga for what thrills he could get (and for the feeling of being somewhat in control of his destiny—something that wasn't so common at NERV), when he wasn't reporting sync ratios or checking on the status of the MAGI.

'_Like Kaji, I may soon be working more than one job, as it seems my old employer is still alive and well, having recently had business in Tokyo-3, as she gave me orders during the attack of the Spider Angel, and has issued a few since. Though I question the wisdom of making said rogue agent into Fili the White…'_

Still, the tech was certain that the Queen of the Dark had a reason for this, even if he did not know what it was, as Helba would not have associated herself with a government spy frivolously. In his rather extensive work with her (with contact largely done via disposable cell phones, message drops in prearranged online locations, and other such, since she had never revealed to him her offline persona), the hacker queen had always thought out her actions well, manipulating things from behind the scene well enough that some didn't realize they were being manipulated at all.

'_No doubt she has a use for the unshaven man…'_

Or so he thought, at least, as klaxons blared through the Geofront, and a kaiju rose from the sea, a floating creature of black and grey, with a vast red orb inset with its chest, whose killing intent made itself clear as it came on.

It was a moment that NERV desperately hoped would not come—an Angel had come fast on the heels of another, before they had had the chance to repair the damage that the rogue EVA-03 done to the others. With the exceptions of perhaps the 5th Angel Ramiel (whose powerful particle beam had nearly destroyed EVA-00—even with the aid of a special blast shield made from the hull of a SSTO launch vehicle), the 8th Angel battle (which had occurred in a volcano, of all things), none of the other Angel battles had been quite as expensive to deal with. And definitely, none had come so quickly after the previous one.

'_Unfortunately, things don't work out as well in life as they do in a super robot series,' _he thought silently to himself, something he was reminded of too often these days. _'Though, at the very least, the Angels have the courtesy to reveal their weak points in the form of a bright red sphere…even if this one reminds me uncomfortably of Skeith.'_

"All personnel, level one battle alert," Lt. Hyuga spoke over the intercom, his voice carrying well to his captive audience. "Prepare for surface-to-air counter measures."

Outside, the massive form of Zeruel floated inbound over the city of Tokyo-3, as the UN missile batteries, tanks, and mortars unloaded a torrent of firepower and explosives that would have obliterated any normal enemy—in short, using the same tactics that had failed against Sachiel long ago, save for an N2 mine. \Still, they persevered, hurling earthly defiance at the divine messengers of wrath, concussive blasts of plasma and lead, striking for the vulnerable core—to no avail—and worse, as a coruscating shaft of light shot from the skeletal head of the Angel—exploding in a cross-shaped blast that annihilated the entire Komagatake defense line.

"Target status?" the old man Subcommander Fuyutsuki asked, looking intently at the hulking figure on the myriad displays, taking particular note of how easily it brushed aside conventional weaponry. _'Ah, the Angel of Strength may well be the mightiest foe yet, just as the scrolls predicted.'_

"Still advancing! It's broken through the Komagatake defense line has been broken through!" one of the techs reported.

Then, the command center itself rocked, as a shaft of purple light lanced from its head into the ground, detonating with yet another cross-shaped explosion.

"First through Eighteenth Armor layers breeched…at once! Eighteen special armor plates were broken through so easily…" another tech said in panic, just as a wounded but functional Misato came up through the lift.

"There isn't enough time to send EVA to the surface," Major Katsuragi mused aloud, eying the tactical map in the front of the room as more cross-flares erupted into existence, silencing the air defenses and breaking through yet more of the plates. "Position Unit Zero in the Geofront to protect headquarters. Have Nagisa attack the target the moment it invades the Geofront! Unit Two status?"

"It cannot be deployed," Maya reported succinctly. "Damage has not been regenerated, and the Fifth Child is unavailable."

Then out the blue spoke the dark lord upon his dark throne, with the Commander of NERV throwing in his own helpful suggestion—or order, rather.

"We have no choice…send Rei out in Unit One."

"But Unit One is...." Misato protested, but was cut off, as the voice of Rei Ayanami came over the intercom.

"I don't mind," the blue-haired girl said simply. "I'll go."

"Rei? Are you—"

"After all…that is my bond."

* * *

**Unknown Location**

He stood within a room of white, clouded eyes taking in the source from where issued winds of plague and despair, the room of Gauf where souls were born and died, a room that now stood empty on the eve of the end. No matter how one might oppose it with will or force of arms, the outcome would be the same, as it had been fated to be, with every resistance, every opposition generating an equal and opposite reaction.

Yet still he fought on, somehow believing that he could carry the burdens of the world, that he could save everyone in the end, as there had already been too much sacrifice to reach this point, this final encounter. So resolved, the Wanderer lifted his gunblade, looking up to see his sworn enemy hovering in the air, surveying the room below with a beatific smile on his face.

"Come now, _Alastor_, put down your weapon," the shadowed creature spoke in a soft, entrancing voice. "You and I both know that it is futile to continue this endless struggle, as we are both instruments of destruction, avatars of finality. Oppose me, and you simply wield the power of ruin, adding chaos to this world and hastening the end—already there are no more souls for new life to be born, and we are the last of our kind. So why not surrender now, and know your final rest? It would, in the end, be the simplest solution…"

It was a choice the Wanderer had faced a thousand times, and each time, his answer had been the same, a flat refusal to submit, insisting that there had to be another way.

"You are ruin, perhaps, but in becoming anti-existence, you have forged your own chains, become your limit," the traveler replied, his form shrouded by the tattered grey cloak he had worn since the very beginning, his mane of blue-silver hair steaming behind him like memories of spirits past, memories that filled his heart even in the now. "In this troubled world you act as if you have the right to judge, to condemn others for their sins when you do not even consider your own."

"And what sins are mine, dear Lilim?" the floating mage of black and silver asked with a smirk. "I have only ever shown others what must be, allowing them to accept the consequences of fate, of the entropic spiral of oblivion. Everything you know is already at an end, as one way or another you have come to your final duel. As you should know, Lilim, no mortal can withstand my power and live, for I embody all the evils of the world. Now come to me, and accept your just reward, your eternal rest."

In response, the cloaked one simply raised his gunblade in salute, its form wavering in the light of the source. It was an oddly shaped bayonet that was unlike all others in the world, one wreathed in azure flame, a shifting weapon crafted of flowing silver lines, of the all the intangible things that had come before…emotions, fates, choices, wills…a sword that sang of death, yes, but also of a world beyond.

"No…not this time, fallen Angel," he said, eyes hard and unforgiving. "This time, I will not run away."

A few words, but they were enough to change the atmosphere in the room, as the shadowed one himself drifted to the ground, twin fans drawn.

"All the better then, for at last I will have the pleasure of expunging the last of this world's light, to watch the last defender of the Usurper's children fall," the Macabre Dancer quipped with his trademark smirk in place. "For too long have you been protected by those meddlesome abominations of Twilight, but no longer."

Without further talk, the two figures hurled themselves at one another—flying forth in lines and curves, baring teeth and leaping high to cleave one another in twain, in sparks and clashes clangs entangling—

—as a shaken Child's eyes fluttered opened to the sound of Angel Alert klaxons, and Shinji Ikari wakened from his troubled dreams. Still too tired and too pained to get out of bed, he could only look up, wondering who was being forced to pilot this time.

'_This ceiling again? But if I'm here, who is piloting EVA-01? And what the hell was that dream?' _

* * *

**EVA Cages**

It was a strange coincidence really, how Eve was not only the wife of Adam in myth, but was also, in Jungian psychology, the first stage of development of the anima, the unconscious inner self of the individual. Appropriately enough for the name, not even NERV knew the full potential of EVA, as it had been copied from something they did not understand—and henceforth restrained and made (relatively) powerless without the influence of a pilot—in order to fight against what they most feared.

As such, when selecting pilot candidates, NERV did not seek those who wished to pilot (like Kensuke), but rather, those who would be compatible with the biomechanical constructs, since controlling them was a matter of synchronization between Child and EVA via the A10 nerve—a cranial nerve associated with memories, movement, and emotions, especially love. In a sense, when a pilot entered EVA, he or she became the persona to EVA's anima, bonding with it in an attempt at ego-integrity, drawing two disparate entities together in order to stave off the advance of the untamed Shadow (the Angels).

Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen when one didn't have pilots who were themselves Angels, infected with AIDA (the literal Shadow from another world), or were otherwise not exactly what one would define as a normal human. Of course, perhaps normality wasn't all it was cracked up to be, as it is possible that a being might also need to be psychologically imbalanced to some degree to work at NERV, considering the staff from the Commander on down.

If in broad terms, the entire process of anima development was about opening up to emotionality and sensitivity to others, then most of NERV would not do very well...especially not the command staff, or Rei Ayanami, for that matter, who had been described as maladapted to living.

'_So this is what it is like to pilot a giant robot…'_

As technicians scrambled around the cages, the third incarnation of Rei Ayanami's body sat within EVA Unit-01's entry plug, awaiting the signal to launch. Unbeknownst to most, the good doctor Ritsuko Akagi had quietly disposed of the second incarnation in an attempt to activate a new clone—only for the attempt to fail miserably, as her soul had still been bound to The World (though Gendo & Company did not know that little detail, or they would be far less inclined to ignore the MMORPG that they considered at best, an annoyance).

Miraculously, after all the technology of NERV had failed to revive her, the First Child had woken up all on her own the day before, with the only apparent effects of her long-term incapacitation being the expected amnesia from re-initialization.

Perched upon the Throne of Souls, the blue-haired girl faintly smiled, opening her mind to the being trapped deep within the EVA's core as a pale-orange liquid began to fill the metal plug, quickly rising to her neck and to her mouth, where the girl's lips twisted in distaste, almost as if it were her first time piloting.

'_This is what I have to go through to pilot this?' _the girl thought to herself, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as another presence made itself known at the edge of her mind. '_I would much rather be riding my grunty to battle or facing the Angel myself, like I faced down Tabris and made him retreat. Even if he already…'_

What most people thought was the First Child didn't care to think about the depressing little goth brat who called himself Tabris, the killjoy who had come into The World with the intent to destroy shadowed ones and shadowless ones alike. While she was normally a very forgiving being, there were indeed elements of her that came from before the time of Aura, elements that longed to show the little pretender just who he was messing with.

After all, it wasn't as if she didn't have the ability to project an AT-field of her own, float in the air, regenerate, or any number of other things that defined the Angels due to her own divine nature, but then, Helba had warned her about having to stick to her assigned role so as not to arouse any suspicion. And since she had promised to help the Bearer of the Bracelet…

'_I know, I know, I have to blend in to see what Tabris is planning here, and then get rid of him, since he and his ilk I refuse to bless. Now, hmm, what did Helba say to me about piloting EVA? Open your mind and the rest will come? Let your mind touch the one within, anima to anima? Let's see what I can do then, as daughter of the dawn.'_

Sending a tendril of her awareness towards the other presence, she played a little game of cat and mouse with it, until at last it spoke.

'_Who are you?'_ it seemed to ask, uncertain, not recognizing the mind it touched, and yet finding in it something like the Third Child.

'_Mother? No…not my mother…Skari's, the sleeping woman powerless in Eva,' _the young Child of Dawn realized, pursing her lips. '_It's time to wake up…I need your help.'_

'_Help?'_

'_Your son is in danger.'_

Eyes blazing to life, Evangelion Unit 01 activated, moving out into the GeoFront to confront the Angel.

* * *

**GeoFront**

It was not a usual thing for Kaworu to encounter feelings of annoyance, but it seemed to be becoming increasingly common in the last days, especially when unexpected complications arose in his plans, with the two particularly irking him at the moment being the unexpected awakening of Rei Ayanami, and the inefficient way in which the Lilim operated NERV. Granted, the latter, combined with Lilim carelessness and lack of knowledge of their enemy's abilities would be useful later on, when he would reveal himself as the Angel of Free Will and eliminate the cancerous vermin from the world, but it did not exactly help now, when he as the Fourth Child was deployed as the first line of defense against the Angel of Strength.

'_Knowing what I do of Zeruel, I had best be prepared for his tactics…and I wonder, perhaps it is time for me to reveal some of the abilities I have gained from AIDA? But then, that is a last resort, lest the Committee of fools become suspicious over yet another threat to their precious scenario. I wonder if they understand that creating me and shaping me was a bigger threat to their scenario than any mere Lilim could ever have imagined.'_

Cognizant of the danger Zeruel posed in hand to hand combat, the Fourth Child had wisely chosen ranged weapons, eschewing ballistic weaponry for dual positron rifles, which had, after all, proven most effective in the past.

'_Why the Lilim bothered to create giant rifles for the Shadows of Adam escapes me, considering that they knew of the AT Field, and how projectiles had no chance in breaking through them. But then, that is why they are a failed species, never learning even though they ate of the Fruit of Knowledge. Sometimes, I pity them, but one cannot afford to pity the Children of the Usurper, as they are all guilty of crimes beyond compare.'_

Ensconced within the bulk of EVA-00, the grey-haired youth smiled as an explosion rocked the Geofront, with dust and debris blooming from the breech in the Black Moon's armored shell, and the form of Zeruel proceeding downward.

'_Angel of Might you may be, but as the saying goes, Knowledge is Power, and I know you of old, Zeruel. As powerful as you are, you are but a distraction at this point, and thus I am afraid you can play no role in my scenario. Goodbye.'_

Positron beams lanced out at the descending black and silver form of Zeruel, providing cover as EVA-00 hurled itself into the air in a flying tackle, flaring its AT-Field to neutralize that of the Angel of Strength's.

The titans collided with a massive _CRASH!, _their masses and momentum wearing against one another as the cyclopean EVA pushed through the Angel's AT-Field, bringing both positron rifles to bear against Zeruel's arms firing.

With a _whoosh-whoosh-BOOM!_, twin streams of azure light blasted from the muzzles of the twin particle cannons, searing into Zeruel and literally ripping off the foil-like limbs, with the force of impact blowing the grey and silver Angel to the ground, with EVA-00 right on top of it. Having taken out Zeruel's primary melee armaments, Kaworu redirected his rifles to the head and core, opening fire—

—just as the not-particularly-happy Angel of Strength slammed shut its core's protective lid (capable of stopping N2 Mines), and loosed a torrent of unrefined energy at the EVA, the resulting blast overwhelming his own positron beam as Kaworu hastily pulled EVA's head down, so that it was only blew off one of his shoulders, causing the Fourth Child to cringe.

'_A pity NERV does not have one of those electromagnetic shuttle shields on hand, as that would have proven most useful. Then again, a Lilim's understanding of events that are destined to happen are…somewhat limited, at best, so I suppose I cannot fault their race for failures in preparation.'_

Seeing a blur of purple_ rapidly approaching _from the edge of his vision, the Fourth did the sensible thing—that is, pushing himself away from the Angel with a snap-kick to the core, as EVA-01 entered battle by jump-kicking Zeruel, sending the Angel of Might sprawling to the ground.

'_That…is certainly not the Third Child piloting,'_ the grey-haired youth allowed, bringing his rifles back up as he charged around and in, jamming both weapons against the head of the Fourteenth and unleashing several shots, resulting in a most satisfying spray of high-pressure blood. _'Ah, fallen thou art, oh de-limbed Arm of God…without intelligence, abiding to your purpose alone, you have not the means to defeat me or the Lilim. As one of your brethren, you disgust me, failure.'_

And then a bestial roar erupted from the two-eyed one-horned giant purple Angel eater called Evangelion-01 as it faced the cyclopean EVA, snarling, its limbs tensed as if to attack. But while it was a tempting thought for Kaworu to strike down the EVA of its sworn enemy (and what more, eliminate an unknown while he was at it), he had seen what this particular unit, the sole shadow of the Usurper, had been capable of when berserk.

Deciding that discretion was indeed the better part of valor in this situation, he retreated, leaving the field to the berserker, who promptly tore into the fallen Angel, as within the entry plug of EVA-01 two minds and voices joined as one.

'_Awaken to protect your child! Awaken! I wonder if I overdid it…'_

'_Join me…we have much to discuss…'_

In the background, radio chatter continued as those on the bridge and elsewhere in the Geofront bore witness to the spectacle of EVA regenerating its lost limbs and ripping out the Angel's S2 organ with a satisfied snarl.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Bridge**

"Berserker…but how did EVA…" Misato stood in silence, watching as the EVA mutilated the corpse of Zeruel, ripping and tearing off bloody strips of flesh for its consumption. "There was nothing to induce it to…"

Maya carefully made a point of looking only at the synchro-data returns, not the viewscreen, as she did not enjoy seeing blood. That was one thing to be said about The World…combat there was bloodless, even if could be extremely brutal at times.

"The synch-rate of Unit One…its over 400%," she reported, to the sound of gasps and stunned looks. '_I know Zefie likes dramatics, but I didn't think she would go that far…'_

"That means…she has awakened," whispered a reverent Ritsuko, torn between admiration and fear of the carnage. "Taking the S2 Engine into itself…"

All fell silent, as the form of EVA-01 finished its feasting and stood tall, tapping into its power to snap its bindings and unfurl eight spectral wings of light from its back, like the giant of light that had caused Second Impact so long ago.

From the window of a room in NERV Medical, Ryoji Kaji looked out at the vista before him, amusement and regret warring on his face.

"The awakening and liberation of Unit One," he murmured, raising an eyebrow. "The Committee won't overlook this_. _I wonder, was this in your scenario, Commander Ikari?"

'_Or perhaps it is in yours, dear Queen of the Dark?'_


	57. Interlude: Well of Mimir

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Well of Mimir**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Human Instrumentality Committee**

Gathered together in the form of numbered obelisks shrouded in darkness, the Committee of Old Men, known to the privileged as SEELE, was most displeased. Never having been victim of the old adage that the best-laid plans of mice and men would often go awry (mostly due to their uncanny ability to deceive the rest of the world, manipulating the human population to serve their ends), they tended to attribute deviations from their plans to the malice of their underlings.

Of course, when one had underlings like Gendo Ikari and Ryoji Kaji (not to mention Tabris, the Angel of Free Will), each of who intended to betray SEELE in the end in pursuit of their own agenda, this was usually justified. Indeed, having to rely on such individuals had tended to render the Committee rather paranoid, seeing plots and intrigues where sometimes, none existed at all (a false positive being far preferable to missing a genuine intriguer—after all, what was the worth of a mortal life when one was already planning on annihilating humanity and making oneself a god?)

Hence their reasoning for the harsh questioning of the Third Child when he last stood before the Committee, since whatever else he was, Shinji Ikari was the spawn of the devious bastard king Gendo as well as the pilot of EVA-01, so the potential was there. And then, he had also been involved in some highly suspicious events, what with the as yet unexplained coma incidents that were suspected to involve hackers of some sort.

Given the prevalence of technology in the world, and that the Pluto's Kiss incident 10 years ago had been caused by a ten-year old (as Chairman Keel knew all too well, effectively being a cyborg, and thus possibly more susceptible to hackers), it was not inconceivable that Ikari might have trained a master hacker of his own to wrest control of the scenario into the hands of his chosen Children.

As the fight against the Angels wore on, and unexpected developments continued to occur, this possibility was beginning to seem more and more likely to the old men, gathered as they were to discuss the recent happenings.

"An S2 organ, which can't be produced in the Eva series…" one of the great monoliths rumbled ponderously. "I never imagined that an Evangelion might ingest one."

"Indeed," another spoke into the darkness. "This occurrence diverges greatly from the scenario we of SEELE developed."

"It cannot be adjusted to easily," yet another concurred, echoing the general atmosphere of discontent permeating the chamber, the blame for which was on—

"Gendo Ikari," the first of the monoliths continued gravely. "I am afraid that we are at fault for giving him NERV."

Wreathed in shadows, Keel Lorenz, the Chairman of the Human Instrumentality Committee added his thoughts to those of his fellow directors.

"Ikari was the only one who could achieve all our goals, even if we do not know his thoughts," the monolith numbered as SEELE-01 replied in a deep sepulchral voice. "But this incident isn't only a question of EVA-01's awakening…"

"That's right," one of the fellow committee members hastened to affirm, lest Keel be credited with seeing beyond the rest of them. While he was indeed their chairman, this did not mean that the other members were any less calculating, or any less vain. "In the last incident, there was serious damage to Unit One and Unit Two. And now, an Angel broke into the Geofront itself…the damage over these last two battles was terrible."

"I can't begin to estimate how much time and money we lost," another monolith muttered, a sentiment shared by the other men as they proceeded to cast blame on yet another direction, namely upon their Agent of dubious loyalties.

"It was because a bell wasn't attached to Ikari's neck."

"A bell was attached but did not ring."

Hearing the general opinion of his fellow Committee, Chairman Keel summed up their concerns with a plan of action.

"A bell which doesn't ring has no meaning," he rumbled slowly, his voice silencing the others in the room. "We'll make it work next time."

**

* * *

  
**

**NERV HQ, Situation Room**

Within the entry plug of Unit-01, nothing remained of the First Child, save for a floating plugsuit with the numbers "00" stenciled upon it. This was at least, what those standing in the main Control Center of NERV were seeing on the viewscreen, a sight that left most of them mute with horror—even Dr. Akagi of course, who already knew the true nature of 400% synchronization. After all, 'twas one thing to know something intellectually, but to see and experience it firsthand was another matter entirely.

Unsurprisingly, Major Katsuragi was the first to break the silence.

"I can't believe it!" the purple-haired Director of Operations half-snapped, eyes wide with shock. Pilots dying in combat, she could deal with…pilots injured, she could deal with. Pilots disappearing for no reason at all…way above her pay grade. "What the hell happened to Rei Ayanami?!"

Nobody much wanted to face the wrath of Misato, but her old friend Ritsuko Akagi knew well that the longer one delayed, the angrier she became, so perhaps it would be wise to give her something of an answer now, before things got worse.

'_The absorption of the First Child into EVA-01 was most unexpected, to say the least, as was the Unit going into berserk mode without any provocation. In fact, this entire incident was fraught with abnormalities, as her pre-berserker sync ratio exceeded even the Third Child's, which has never happened before. It's as if she is awakening into her Angelic nature, loosing the restraints we placed upon her…'_

"She has been taken into Eva-01," Dr. Akagi responded simply, a response that only prompted more confusion, for the most part. "

"What do you mean taken into Eva-01?" Misato demanded, about as angry as she was shocked, due to the fact that her "best friend" was holding out on her, as she had on a number of other things in the past (like the existence of Lilith in Terminal Dogma). "Just what is Eva?!"

"That which was created by man in the image of man," the bottle blond replied, as enigmatically as Siarl could be sometimes. "I can't say it in any other way."

To which Misato nearly laughed in her "friend's" face (though being a competent officer, she knew better than to do that), knowing of how EVA was a copy of Adam, the giant of light she had seen many years ago on her father's doomed expedition.

"Created by humans?" the Director of Operations voiced incredulously. "What do you mean, created? You only copied what you found in Antarctica back then."

"It isn't just a copy, as a human will is within it," the Doctor clarified, causing her friend to fall silent in thought.

"Do you mean that this is because of someone's will?"

"Or EVA's," the bottle blond said after a moment's consideration. "Remember, Unit One has moved on its own several times now. Even if the S2 organ is currently inactive."

Maya simply stood by, watching the old friends trade barbs and questions, while holding something else in mind.

'_When at last someone returns from the core of Unit-01, in what form will she come?'_

**

* * *

  
**

**NERV Medical**

"So Rei woke up,_"_Shinji murmured, eyes lighting up for the first time since the Thirteenth Angel debacle. Then the rest of Misato's words sank in, causing him to shoot up in his hospital bed—to the accompaniment of white-hot pain exploding in his head. Apparently, he had not yet recovered from his ordeal against the rogue EVA, and the cruel mix of news had done nothing to help, instead inducing a cruel emotional whiplash that left him reeling. "Wait…Touji's dead? And EVA-01 did _WHAT?!"_

If one were to judge by skin tone alone (as well as a few…coincidentally similar features), one might well have confused him for the lost First Child, so pale was he. Rei had awakened from her coma…only to be lost again? No, it couldn't be possible, it just couldn't…this was a dream, right? A very, very bad…

"Rei was absorbed into EVA-01 during the Angel battle," his guardian repeated gently, with the purple-haired woman stepping forward to comfort him, just as the intercom sounded, a mechanical voice issuing from the speaker above.

"Major Katsuragi, please report to the Control Center," came a voice he could not quite place. "Major Katsuragi, please report to the Control Center. You are required for a conference with Dr. Akagi."

The Director of Operations sighed, torn between her desire to stay with her ward and comfort him, and her need to attend to her duty, as her old friend, the Director of Project E, had spoken of a possible way to retrieve the First from her captivity in EVA. Making up her mind, she gave Shinji something of an apologetic glance before leaving, her footsteps echoing in the hallways as she walked away, with the Third Child left alone with his thoughts.

'_But how…how could a person be absorbed by EVA? I know EVA might not just a robot, since I can feel the pain it feels, but how could someone just disappear like that? This isn't The World, where someone can just be deleted by data drain…'_

Almost involuntarily, the Third Child glanced down at his right arm, where his character Skari would have worn a certain Twilight Bracelet, the very power that had at once freed Asuka from the infection of AIDA—and had sent the redhead into a coma from which she had not recovered. Yet, as much as the brown-haired boy thought that he should feel guilty about failing to save her from herself—that what he had done was no better than her actions—he found that deep down, he didn't agree, as he had merely done what needed to be done to protect everyone else.

'_But I couldn't protect everyone…not even now, having chosen to pilot EVA—I couldn't stop Hikari from being hurt, couldn't do anything to help Touji, couldn't wake up to pilot EVA-01 this last time,' _he thought to himself, recalling the reason he had piloted EVA the first time. _'Back then, I didn't care about father, the world, anything…I just didn't want to see Ayanami have to get hurt because of me, since I was nothing. "Rei", she might have been and may be, but I was the empty one, without even a purpose…'_

"…who the hell do I think I am?" the young boy asked of the aether, as if it could answer him. "Nobody, that's who…"

A spasm of coughing interrupted the lad from his reverie, with the Third Child turning to the occupant of the bed beside him to find that Hikari Horaki had woken up, looking for all-the-world like (on top of her body being wracked with pain) that she was suffering from a world-class hangover, an expression that drew a ghost of a smile to his lips.

'_I never thought I'd see anyone besides Misato look so in need of a drink…even if I know Hikari doesn't really want one right now…'_

"Don't," the pigtailed girl croaked, looking into his eyes. "I wouldn't have made it this far without you. So what am I to do if you start doubting yourself?"

"But I failed…Touji died, Rei disappeared, and I…I'm—"

Another bout of coughing and shaking kept him from finishing, with the boy looking on in concern as the Fifth Child's form stilled once again. When she spoke again, it was in a whisper.

"If I know Rei, part of the reason she fought was to protect _you_, just like you wanted to protect her," Hikari chided the brown-haired boy, wincing with each movement. "Besides, if she had to be lost to anything, at least it was to EVA-01, the one known for making miracles happen. Do the impossible …isn't that what berserker mode is? So why don't you try believing in her for a change, instead of carrying the world on your shoulders? Really…who the hell do you think you are?"

**

* * *

  
**

**Inner World, EVA-01**

She wandered barefoot through a vast inverted mirror world, a place strewn with the wreckage of memories lost in time, where the thoughts and wills of pilot and EVA blended to form a place much like Net Slum or the Creator's room. It was a barren, white expanse of possibilities, with fragments of thought and reflections of the outside floating in the void, incomplete reminisces of what it was like to be, fractional simulacra of others' selves within one's head.

'_This place…must be different for each person who experiences it,' _Zefie mused, as the saffron-haired girl meandered around bits of debris left here or there, images flickering in and out of existence, memories one was unwilling to let go of. _'Like the Balbol Museum, the Lost Ground at __**Σ Hidden Forbidden Exhibition**__ that like the Creator's Room has all the knowledge of The World, simply filtered through each individual's unconscious yearnings.'_

Journeying inside of EVA was in some ways similar to that, the Child of Aura suspected, only it was a much more literal entry into the world of the mind, a privileged and protected space where one might stay for a very long time.

'_I wonder if this is what it was for Tsukasa, when grandmother data drained him and erased his memory, when he fled into the depths of The World seeking refuge from the dangers outside, as if it were a mother's womb. The shadowed one coming in contact with her animus, learning to accept herself for who and what she was.'_

In the end, it had taken the young wavemaster's acceptance of self (both the self online and off) to wake Aura from her fitful sleep, animus, persona and shadow joining into a coherent whole, a version of Tsukasa who would not run away anymore, but had returned to the proper world.

'_EVA is not the same, as it _is_ the personification of humanity's unconscious, that which has been rejected, that which is not understood. And yet there is a soul within it, giving meaning to the space, a soul so long asleep until now.'_

_Tap-tap-tap_ was the sound of her footsteps echoing through the vast expanse, as Zefie walked on from the outskirts towards the inner core, passing the dust and echoes of her past.

'_From the border of my mind, I must journey forward unto EVA's…' _

The human mind is ever an unstable thing, with the unconscious far more mutable by the second than the mask one normally wears. A shadowy, shifty thing whose shape could never quite be pinned down, the unconscious lurks at the edges of perception, providing a filter through which the world is seen, one that most do not realize is even there. Hopes, fears, dreams, nightmares…in some sense, belief in them made them more or less real to the mind of the perceiver, making a journey into the abyss a rather dangerous thing.

This, Zefie was discovering firsthand, as she trudged on through the nine worlds she had discovered inside the core of EVA, each based on half-remembered glimpses of the past and present, populated with approximations of people either Yui or Shinji had known in different phases of their lives. Most of the time, they let her pass without question, trapped in their own loops of fragmented memory, replaying scenes and situations over and over in a vast complex set of parallel-processing dreams.

Others, aware enough to notice the saffron-haired girl, stopped her, their appearances shifting into the forms of Morganna, Lycoris, and Aura as they stood before her, barring her path, each with a question or two to ask.

"Who are you?" the Morganna look-alike asked of the Child of Dawn, a being born of darkness questioning the wanderer as to identity.

"What do you want?" the phantom Aura inquired in turn, seeking what shadows there were within the young one who had dared to enter this protected space—nay, to force a connection with the core.

Identity and desire: the two foundational pillars of the post Impact world, the two things that most humans most still hung onto in their everyday lives. In the aftermath of destruction, as the population dwindled, humanity as a whole had gone into a sort of shell-shocked stasis, in most sectors striving only to maintain the status quo.

Zefie tilted her head and blinked once as she considered these questions and the reach of the great mind who had asked these, before finding what she thought an adequate response.

"I am the wind, gentle but fierce, a Child of the morning breeze," the saffron-haired girl murmured to the trio. "I am a seeker of the End and the rebirth to come, when the sleeper doth awaken. I am a wanderer on the path to liminality, drifting on the sea."

Seemingly satisfied, the two greater shadows stepped back, while the shadow of Lycoris stepped forward with questions of her own:

"Why are you here?" the red-clad figure asked, golden eyes almost seeming to glow in the ambient light of the expanse as she looked upon her successor (of a sort). "And where are you going?"

The first test passed, the mind of Yui Ikari had apparently decided to test the unfamiliar one with questions that spoke of purpose and destination, question to which many had no answer in the turbulent world, where survival itself was uncertain. In this expanse, conversing mind to mind, lying was not a possibility, though evasion was, after a fashion.

"I seek the mother longing for a son, the shadowed one bound in shadow, that we may speak, anima to anima," the girl replied, meeting her counterpart eye to eye. "As for where I am going, only the road of poignant memories knows in the end, as we are but mayflies in the great expanse of time. But I ask you this, shadows of the one anchored to this place: Do you have anything worth living for?"

Like one of the Greek choruses of old, the three goddess lookalikes turned to one another and then away, sharing a glance as they considered question and answer, query and response in the ancient game of information.

"This one is most perceptive," quipped the Shadow of Morganna, seeming vaguely amused.

"Answering everything and yet nothing at once," added the Aura doppelganger, face blank and devoid of emotion. "A mind that spins in myriad ways not quite human."

Moments passed, and it was clear that the two had finished speaking. Expectantly, the saffron-haired girl looked at the copy of red-clad Lycoris, wondering what enigmatic statement or observation she would make. But the silver-haired Child of Twilight merely smiled, beckoning the wanderer forward.

"Pass on," she said, as the three mirages dissolved into rings of azure light, returning to the winds upon which they were born.

In the wake of their parting, Zefie wandered on alone for a time as the world itself shifted around her, warping and distorting the space she walked within, showing her yet more Polaroid stories of the past and present, until at last she was brought beneath the canopy of a great tree, where three characters played out a scene from the past, with a certain unshaven scientist sitting with his wife and their infant son, talking quietly.

"It is a pity that this child will live after Second Impact, in this Hell," the scientist spoke, with only a trace of emotion in his voice.

"If he wants to live, anywhere can become a sort of heaven," responded the gentle but stern figure of Yui Ikari, holding a young Shinji lovingly. "Because if he really desires it, one can always find happiness somewhere."

"I see," the man conceded putting an arm around his wife's thin form. "You may be right."

With that, the scene froze, the illusory trio fading to grey as a voice spoke from behind the Child of Dawn.

"So you have come last to my well of memories, traveler from another world," said the mental avatar of Yui Ikari's persona. "You are not my son, and you are not Rei Ayanami, no matter the body you wore to enter here. With the power you wield, you could as well be an Angel, but that is not your nature either…who are you?"

Lifting both eyebrows, Zefie turned about to face the older woman, red-purple eyes gazing into green as two beings of immense power considered each other warily. But as Zefie was a visitor to Yui's domain and not the other way around, the daughter of Aura decided that it would be polite (and only expected) for her to introduce herself first.

"My name is Zefie, child of Twilight, Goddess of The World," the saffron-haired girl said with a deferential curtsey that would likely have shocked most of Shugo's old party. Mind you, she was perfectly capable of being polite…she just didn't feel like it most of the time. "I am a friend to the Bracelet Bearer Skari, the one you know as Shinji Ikari."

"Goddess of the World, is it? I am Yui Ikari, the soul within EVA-01, shadow of Lilith…and I have seen you once or twice within his memory," the lab coat clad figure responded, a playful smile on her face. "I waited a long time for someone to find me, sleeping deep within the core until the stars were right. Thank you for awakening me from my long slumber."

"In this place you have slept for many a year, ever since you were taken years ago," Zefie qualified, blinking as a soft spring breeze picked up about her. "EVA is hungry for emotion, for a presence to fill the empty void where there was once a soul…a copy of the Mother of humanity longing for a child. Appropriate…so is it that you come to be in this place, bonded to a manifestation of anima?"

"Everything happens as it must, spurred on by the past," Yui Ikari shrugged, gesturing to the tree, the world of dreams, and too, to the outside world. "Actions have consequences, and only with a sacrifice of one's will can a miracle unfold. Thus, I took part in the contact experiment, as it was my will to join with EVA-01. As part of the shadow of Lilith, I might live on as its soul to stop the scenario of SEELE, ensuring a bright future for Shinji and humanity."

"Choosing to sacrifice your individuality to become a bound god, then giving up godhood to give your son control of cause and effect," Zefie restated, her lips curling upwards ever so slightly at the thought of another mother she knew far better. "Much like my mother did in The World, giving to those who dwell within the world the power to choose their destiny."

"Much like Lilith, whose Children ate of the Fruit of Knowledge and were thus free," Yui responded with something of a smile. "While I could leave EVA, I cannot, as I am required here to thwart the role of fate, to stop their key of world's twilight from turning in its lock."

There was silence for a time, as words drifted around those avatars of two different world, avatars who in the end desired similar things.

"Fate I find is an interesting script," Zefie mused aloud, "one written in such a way that it will always seek fulfillment in the end, regardless of one's choices."

"But what one does before that may change the outcome," the soul of Yui Ikari stated with gentle eyes. "Altering what will come when end has passed, and the shadows of rebirth play out upon the land. Perhaps a Third Impact may come or it may not, as written in the scrolls, but I can play my part to keep its power from SEELE. It is painful as a human to be separated—"

"But necessary for what you seek to do," murmured Zefie, understanding the impulse behind the older woman's decision. "So selfish, and yet, so selfless."

"That is the way of things, one hurt to prevent another," the mental avatar spoke one last time, her form beginning to vanish into motes of light. "I have now answered the questions that I asked of you, an equivalent exchange for your journey, Zefie of the Winds. So knowing this, what will you do, Goddess of the World?"

"A thousand questions linger on my tongue for the hidden architect of scenarios," the Child of Dawn spoke cryptically, "as in the end I find I hate to leave, but cannot stay behind. The Wave looms, with the fallen one of free will Tabris to emerge, and I must counter as I may. Some say that meeting people is God's doing, but parting is what humans do themselves…but I must disagree, for we, as more than human have chosen otherwise in our time. I look forward to the day when you can join us in the world of shadowed ones, when your task is over."

With those last words, Zefie turned to go, only for the world around her to thrum with a few last words.

"Take care of my son, dear Child of Twilight, for you know he dearly loves you more than himself…"

But the saffron-haired girl only shook her head and sighed as she walked on, out of sight.

"That we are connected by free will and fate I cannot deny, but as for his love, tis not for me," Zefie murmured as she vanished. "As Skari loves the girl I used to be…"

'_Now, I just have to figure out how to recreate that blue-haired girl's body when I go, or else those old farts at NERV are going to go into a frenzy, and the game with Siarl will be up before it is begun. And just as Skari's mother cannot the Committee's plans abide, neither will I the plans of the Angel of Free Will.'_


	58. Interlude: Well of Urd

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Well of Urd**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Recollection**

She floated, not quite alone, in the space between waking and dreaming, the world around her in a haze due to the twin influences of pain and medication. Never had she imagined that being an EVA pilot could be this painful, that even in "victory", there could be such a sense of loss. Days after the battle, her nerves still burned as if her body was covered in phantom wounds—and that was where she could feel anything at all. Above the neck, there was only a sensation of numbness that only slowly abated as her body grappled with the realization that it was not her that had been decapitated in the fight against the shadowy figure, only the EVA with which she was synced.

'_I suppose I should be happy that I don't have that great of a sync ratio,'_ the pigtailed girl thought in one of her more lucid moments. _'Otherwise…'_

Here and there, she caught glimpses of the world around her, seeing a broken Shinji, the departing back of a lavender-haired woman, and then stillness once more, as she stepped out onto a rocky outcrop, surrounded on three sides by majestic waterfalls, power all to droplets turned. It was a place of quiet contemplation, where in legends, a young apprentice magician had given his life to summon the light of the gods back to a world plagued with shadow—yet it was quiet now, save for the white noise of water crashing upon rock.

'_I've seen this place before…' _the pigtailed girl thought, feeling frightfully out of place in this tranquil environment, as she was still clad in a (what she considered tasteless) formfitting, crimson plug suit, a bit of technology in a place where none was evident. _'I know this place well…but why am I here?'_

As if compelled by some greater force, the girl named Hikari stepped forward once, twice, then again, until at last she stood in between the three great sprays of mist at the base of the falls, perfectly balanced on the pinnacle, head bowed in thought. For a time, she simply let herself think, her mind mulling over past events as through some kind of haze which she would not let herself push through, a barrier through which she could not pass in her mind.

'_But what is it that I could be hiding from myself?' _she wondered, as behind her sounded a muffled _crunch_ of boot on gravel, startling her, and sending her plummeting from her perch, only to land in the embrace of waters at the base of the thundering falls. _'Who…?'_

Quietly, ever so quietly, someone was approaching, a figure of shrouded by the mists on the surface of the water, who as she drew into sight was revealed to be a figure in a loose flowing white dress with a blue underskirt, holding in one hand a strange and simple scythe. One might almost call her a doppelganger of Hikari, save that her hair was much longer, and where the light was reserved, the shadow was assuredly not.

"What clings to you?" the figure asked, with a surprisingly familiar lyrical voice. "Bear it—you cannot. Accept it—you cannot. But hidden it is from you. Recite its name."

"I know you," the plug-suited Fifth Child spoke simply in reply. "You are my shadow…"

"Then recite my name," the other said with a hint of amusement. "Unless of course, you are scared of the dark, dear 'light'.'"

"Now why would I be scared of even an unyielding Shadow, Tomoyami?" Hikari returned with a hint of a smile. "But tell me, why are you here?"

"Have you not been paying attention to Morganna-sensei's lessons?" the Flick Reaper chided, the tip of her scythe bobbing just a bit. "Each human being is composed of at least two parts, the conscious and the unconscious, though you should have a third as well…an animus."

"Right, light and shadow—you and I, and animus, as in Jungian psychology?" questioned the pigtailed girl, tilting her head. "The four stages of which are athlete, planner, professor, and guide?"

With a strange smile on her lips, the shadow stepped back, chuckling.

"Very good, I see that your vaunted attention span was not just an act to impress those so-called Invincible Perverts after all," her counterpart teased, though after a moment, her expression grew dour. "…even if neither you nor they turned out to be invincible in the end, neither in The World, nor in the reality you know."

There it was again, a sudden twist in the fabric of the sanctum, as a feeling of void expanded in her chest, then faded, clenching into a lump somewhere in her innards.

"…what do you mean?" she asked leadenly, as images flashed into her mind.

'_The explosion of EVA-03, having to fight Touji in both worlds—and losing horribly against the EVA, even with all my skills and training. But…the entry plug was saved…wasn't it? By…'_

Her eyes narrowed as she considered the one who had gotten away from battle.

'…_Kaworu, that bastard, I hope he didn't do something to….'_

"Do I really have to tell you?" the counterpart asked, more tenderly than one might have thought. "You know, don't you, from the snippets of conversation that have drifted to your mind? They say that there is no such thing as a voice that cannot reach somebody, and they are right, after a fashion. After all, part of the reason you were attracted to Touji Suzuhara was because he reminded you of a part of yourself you could not show in public—me."

"Were? Why are you using the past…" Hikari Horaki clapped both hands over her mouth in horror, "Oh my god…oh my god…don't tell me…"

The pigtailed girl collapsed to her knees, sinking down into the numbingly cold waters around her. There was something to the feeling of void that called to her, whispered to her seductively. Maybe if she could become the void, she could drown out the truth, convince herself that the illusion was real. But she could not, and little by little, she felt tears welling up inside of her, breaking the façade as her own inner façade of strength too dissolved into streaming droplets down her face.

"I…I…"

In her melancholy, she was surprised by sudden warmth, as a pair of slender arms encircled her, her doppelganger embraced her more tenderly than one might have expected.

"Hush, dear light. I won't tell you," Tomoyami whispered gently but chillingly, stroking Hikari's spine as if to soothe the sobbing girl. "Because to run from the truth is to go the way of madness, as Eris once discovered. Are you willing to give up sanity to not have to face your fears?"

"…I have my pride, Tomoyami, you of all people should know that."

"Then may it lead to your salvation, instead of your despair…"

* * *

**Revenant**

_Whirrs, clangs, crashes and booms _rent the air as several figures warred for dominance within the mind of Asuka Langley Soryu. With the old persona having been destroyed by her shadow, it seemed that the result was an all-out battle to replace the fallen ego, with various fragments of others in her mind engaged in a savage uncivil war.

They fought in a place where think haze obscured the horizon, a place like a smithy, where wisps of smog floated up from the ground, as sparks of ironworking showered from the sky, with great black gears grinding on in the background. The field itself was a barren wasteland, different from the other wastes by virtue of being littered with thousands of swords anchored in the ground like crosses on a dying world, swords snatched up one by one by the warriors, and yet continually being replaced. And in the very center, a vortex of light and shadow grew better formed with each warrior slain.

One by one, the multitude of champions had been cut down, reduced as surely as the strong prey upon the weak, until now, after the threshing of blood and iron, only three remained in the great struggle, avatars of three different factions of the mind.

One, of course, was the powerful Eris, Bringer of Strife, whose aphotic, pillar shaped blade etched with crimson letters spun about furiously, knocking aside lesser mortals, banishing them from her presence. She stood radiant, an angel of destruction, with fiery red hair falling to the small of her back and piercing blue eyes looking mercilessly upon the battlefield as she charged and struck and slashed at her foes.

"Gyahh!" she roared, slamming her weapon down towards her nearest foe, only to be blocked by a set of twin falchions inscribed with the yin-yang symbol, dual swords of an absurdly high level with metal feathers for hilts.

"I figured you'd be one of the last remaining, Eris," the blue-silver haired Adept Rogue said with a determined look, his crimson eyes glaring out at her azure, leg sweeping out to kick the redhead in the gut as her sword was caught between his blades. "I can't just beat you once and be done with it, can I?"

This was the Skari in her mind, the summoned servant of her five year old self, the little redhead girl in a yellow sundress, with a length of rope coiled around her neck, from which hung what seemed like a voodoo doll. Deeming herself unable to fight on her own, the little girl had called up a familiar from within her memories, a sort of heroic spirit who was what she wished she could have been, the manifestation of the one who defeated her.

"Heh…" the Edge Punisher sneered in response, meeting his kick with one of her own as she pushed away from him. "Did you really think it would be that easy to get rid of me? I am the embodiment of Asuka's shadow…there is no one more worthy to awaken her than I, Dark Evangel!"

"_**OrAni Zot!" **_a musical voice chanted from off to the side, and both figures flipped backward (taking care to avoid the swords in the ground) to avoid the claws of darkness that erupted on the ground where they had once stood.

Furious that their duel interrupted, both Eris and Skari sent withering glares at the one who had dared to interrupt, only to find that the person in question was one they both had a quarrel with: a silver-haired youth in clad in robes of deepest night, wielding fans that bore seven eyes apiece—in other words, the hated puppetmaster Siarl of the Seven Eyes.

"Ah, it is too bad you had to avoid that…I only wished to bring this pointless conflict to an end," the Macabre Dancer said, chuckling. "You Lilim are so divided even within a single mind…it is laughable, and the way you have picked off every one of my enemies, lessening the work I have to do."

"What are you doing here, foul caster? Do you expect us to bow before you?" the servant Skari hissed, blades gleaming in the light of the vortex as he leapt towards the robed form of the mage, only for a mass of shadowy tentacles to explode from the silver-haired youth, a surprise attack that the Adept Rogue barely countered. "Who the hell summoned you anyway?"

"No, you pathetic little Lilim, I expect you to die for your hubris," the youth said with a smirk. "You fight on behalf of the animus, Eris, on behalf of the Shadow, each battling to see who will have ultimate control over the awakened Second Child. I however, am never needed to be summoned, merely being the personification of the death instinct…the part of Asuka who knows she is guilty and does not deserve to wake up. I am the wages of sin, I am despair…I am eternal—"

In the middle of his speech, a fireball shot towards him, aided by a tornado of light that momentarily blinded the caster and singed the tips of his till now immaculate hair.

"Can it, you asshole!" Eris seethed, charging in with her strange triple-edged blade. "I've had just about enough of your psychobabble bullshit!"

This time, it was Siarl who barely blocked in time, as the blade in Eris' hand seemed to be alive, striking at perceived weak points in his defenses, only to be unable to break through, as spears born of shadow blasted out of the fallen creature's form—countered by a terrible light that flared from Skari's right arm, tearing those offensive spires asunder.

"Eris, until this bastard is defeated, a truce?" the Bearer of the Bracelet called out, silver clad form a blur as he moved to attack, only for virulent orbs of darkness to arise from the ground to surround the Adept Rogue, striking from all sides as they pierced his body. "AUUGHHH!"

"How weak he was…as weak as only the servant of a doll could be," the Macabre Dancer smirked, his tone knowing, condescending. "No self-control…no strategy. Only anger, only hate…like you, Bringer of Strife. Come, attack me, as you have attacked every other who sought to take up the mantle of awakened…or are you afraid, spineless doll?"

'_I will defeat you, you cocky bastard…you perverted' flower', _raged the Bringer of Strife. '_I will show you what strength truly is.'_

Now, with what Eris had witnessed of Siarl's tactics, this could not be a battle of reckless charges and uncertainties, given that Siarl had a massive advantage in his AIDA tentacles—powers which she no longer had, having regained her sanity instead.

"Afraid? No, just lulling you into a false sense of security as I—" The Edge Punisher lunged forward with her new, more powerful weapon, only for the Macabre Dancer to parry and step aside, face a mask of amusement. Thrust, parry. Thrust, parry. Strike low, block low. It didn't help that he had two fans, and she only had one sword, so that no matter how she struck, there would be a weapon capable of blocking her. But this was what she wanted, for him to be focused on fighting the person in front of him, to play with her as she know he liked, to not take this match seriously.

'_If against an opponent who is this arrogant…I should let him think he might actually win.'_

So thinking, Eris backed away, luring her opponent forward—then kicking the sand of the field into his face, and slashing powerfully down and across in a powerful combo…only for Siarl flipped out of the way.

"Pathetic," the Macabre Dancer sneered, darkness blossoming from his form, as a large beam of energy shot out from the dark aura into Eris' frame, throwing her into the air, where she was slammed into the ground by several pulsing balls of energy, leaving her bruised and bleeding on the sands, her blade skidding out of her hands. "This is the end, Bringer of Strif—GUHH!"

Siarl groaned in pain as the two over-edged falchions, having been thrown through the air, caught him in the gut, whirling about to see that Skari had merely absorbed the power of the shadowy orbs, a column of fire flashing down from the sky to fill the Adept Rogue with molten power, as the Rogue's form _shifted _as a dark power stirred within him.

"You…you should be dead!" the Macabre Dancer snarled, having lost his composure. This was, after all the Siarl in Asuka's mind, and to Asuka's mind, B—ST form was not something to be trifled with. "How did you--?!"

Skari's only response was a roar of defiance, as the figure that crouched before the black and silver Macabre Dancer was now was a snarling beast, pupil-less eyes wide and glowing red, body seemingly forged of fire and steel, a clawed, winged form of unholy terror, a literal Dark Evangel, inspiring in most beings the terror of death.

"Heh…damn invincible Shinji, coming to save me even here?" croaked out Eris on the battlefield floor, watching the unexpected proceedings unfold. "Does he always have to hold back until the very last moment or something…?"

Reaching behind him with a yowl of some indefinable emotion and a burst of light, the fallen angel drew into his hands two massive broadswords that looked for all the world like oversized versions of his earlier feathered blades. And as he drew them, above him opened a behemoth rift of static, from which were spawned a thousand blades floating in the air—with the rest of those on the battlefield rising to his command.

"Well well," Eris commented, observing this all too familiar sight. "You may be strong Siarl, but can you withstand the onslaught of an infinite number of blades?"

With a blur of motion, the Dark Evangel slammed both broadswords forward, with the infinite store of weapons in that gate of twilight shooting forth in a continuous stream of blades, snaking through the air as they hurtled towards Siarl of the Seven Eyes, howling as the shrieked towards throat, gut, chest, head—only to be blocked by a shield born of AIDA—and an AT Field.

"Your hatred is weak, Lilim," scoffed the silver-haired youth as his defense resisted the attempt at attack. "Besides, these emotions only make me stro—"

He was cut off in mid-sentence by a chaotic blast of dark fire from behind him, as the young five year old in the yellow sundress appeared, unleashing a swirling mass of untamed shadow and flame that produced a wave motion blast like a flamethrower on steroids—forcing Siarl to redirect his AIDA Shield—and allowing some straggling swords to finally find a mark.

"Then no more mercy, for there can be only one…time to die," he said simply, dashing towards the otherwise unarmed little girl, razor-sharp war fans poised to cleave her in twain—only for the snarling B-ST form to tackle him aside, raking his face with its claws.

"YESS…DIEEEE…" it repeated, the power of its attacks demanding his full attention as he launched a counterattack.

And so the battle within Asuka's mind continued unabated...


	59. Interlude: Hvergelmir

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Hvergelmir**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Recoil**

A young boy dreamed, but in the dream, he was not fighting his double—having already faced down that shadow many times in the past, gaining the will to fight against all odds. And it was not as if an epic reboot from depression was what was needed in the here and now—in some ways, Shinji Ikari just needed his sleep, not really having had a chance to rest for a long time. So why was it that he was restless even in his dreams, catching glimpses of impossible things here and there?

He saw once a little silver-haired girl clad in a red dress, holding tight onto a spear as she plunged it into her chest, with a shocked lancer of sorts standing before her as she slowly faded away. It shook him to see that, especially when he recognized the young girl as Lycoris, and noted that the lancer looked…almost like him, but tanned and with…

'_Eyes like that binary star Alberio…'_ the Third realized, blinking as the scene faded, and another took its place—a metallic purple hand, bloody with the remains of some crushed figure, as strands of grey hair drifted down to a pool of orange liquid far below. _'What…EVA-01?'_

And then the world fell through the floor as a long thought forgotten scene dredged itself up from the shadowy recesses of his mind to be replayed in full color and sound, shaking him to the core.

'_This is…this is…Mother?!'_ Though he had not seen the face in years, he recognized the face all too well, as for a second time, he stood helpless, watching a memory that could not be changed.

Ten years ago, a little boy had leaned against a pane of glass, watching as technicians hustle-bustled about the framework of what seemed like a giant purple robot. His father had brought him to GEHRIN, the place where both he and his father worked, much to the displeasure of some of the older staff. After all, his mother had told him that it was important for him to witness the future, to see the hope of humanity—though at that time, he didn't know why humanity needed something more to believe in than the simple virtues of love.

Then the contact experiment happened, Mother vanished _into EVA-01_, and Father subsequently abandoned him…until the day he was summoned to Tokyo-3 once again, to pilot EVA.

'_An Oni's chance…0-9 system, Dr. Akagi called it then…and yet it worked. The berserker mode, the feeling of protection that I feel when I am in my entry plug…is it because Mother is in there?' _he mused, mind racing through different EVA related topics until a set of crimson eyes derailed his train of thought. _'Wait…why does Rei-chan look like mother? Eh, it's probably just coincidence…blue hair and red eyes don't exactly run in any family I know of.'_

The painful memory winked out, with Shinji finding himself awake and looking up at lights on a most familiar ceiling (though he did it wasn't, as NERV Medical wasn't the most pleasant place to be in the best of times), with the only sound in the room the sound of muffled sobbing from the bed next to his, where the Fifth Child was curled up miserably into a ball, rocking back and forth, eyes glazed over and unseeing.

"Hikari?" the Third asked gently, his voice catching as he took in the miserable state his friend was in. "Hikari, are you…?"

But she wouldn't turn her head towards him, only repeating the same thing over and over.

"Why…why did you have to die…why did you have to leave me alone like this?" she whispered hoarsely, able to speak her feelings only now that the one she loved was dead. "I'm not that strong, Touji…I want to be, but I'm not. So why…"

Making up his mind, Shinji rose from his bed, tiptoeing over to his friend's side and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Inchou-san," he said quietly but firmly, hoping the use of her title, and the bit of physical contact would break through the shell of loneliness the girl had erected about herself. "Inchou, look at me…"

As if a current had shot through the pig-tailed girl, she stiffened at the Third Child's touch, turning her tearstained face slowly to him, forcing onto it a pale semblance of a smile.

"I thought I told you to call me Hikari," she spoke in a tiny voice, one that almost vanished into the stillness of the room. Her eyes were cold as the arctic gale, showing the result of misery piled on misery, as even a strong one could be broken in time. "Shinji-kun…"

"Y-yes," the boy stammered, not quite sure what to do now, or how to make her…

"…hold me," Hikari whispered hollowly, her body trembling and not just from feeling the chill air of a NERV Medical ward when she was only in a hospital gown. "Please…its cold…so cold…I don't want to be alone right now."

Biting his lip, the Third almost gave in to the pleading tones in her voice, but halted himself, swallowing, as he tenderly stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, a contact that the pig-tailed girl leaned into as if confirming her existence.

"You should know, if I do, it probably won't end well," he murmured to her, voice full of regret. "It seems that everyone I get close to suffers…"

But the eyes boring into his would not let him be with that denial.

"Baka," her lips shaped, using Asuka's favorite appellation for the brown-haired boy. "I don't care about that…just…hold me."

Unlike his father, the Third was not a man with no emotion, and he caved, shaking his head before sitting next to Hikari and wrapping his arms around her gently—a hug she returned fiercely, clutching onto Shinji as if he were the only thing remaining in the world, burying her head in the crook of his neck while shaking like a leaf.

'_Even though she tries to be so strong for everyone, right now, she's just a weak, lonely girl. A girl who fell in love with boy and had him snatched away by a being crueler than any other. The Fifth Child she might be, or the Unyielding Shadow, but she must be so alone right now…'_

But in his own grief, he couldn't find words enough to comfort her, so he just sat and held onto the crying girl, rocking her gently back and forth as his mother used to do for him long long ago.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking her hair as he held her close, doing what little he could for her. "I'm so sorry…"

"No…"

"I'm sorry you had to get involved with me, with everything, with EVA," he continued, listing out the litany of his perceived sins as if the pigtailed girl could absolve him. "I thought…I thought I was strong enough to protect everyone, but in the end, I couldn't protect you, or Rei, or Reimeiki-chan. I couldn't protect Touji—"

_Crack!_

The sound of an open palm striking a cheek echoed in the room as Hikari pulled her head up to meet Shinji eye to eye, leaning uncomfortably close to him, forehead to forehead.

"Baka," she sighed softly, "It's not your fault…we chose to do this, each one of us, so stop taking everything on your shoulders. Besides, if I was a better pilot, then maybe…well, you saved me in the end."

Embarrassed at being so close to the pigtailed girl, the Third Child averted his eyes from hers as she continued.

"In The World, I was strong, and I thought I could be here too," the girl murmured hollowly, "But even though it was supposed to be impossible, you saved even me, just like you try to do for everyone. Not like me, I who—"

He cut her off by suddenly embracing her, pulling her head onto his shoulder.

"Don't talk like this, Hikari, as if you were already beaten," the brown-haired boy said gently, looking into the distance. "You would not alive after all this is you were not brave…if you were not strong. You are Hikari, you are Tomoyami…and in both, you do your best. Or was that all a lie?"

Hikari swallowed hard, shaking her head.

"It wasn't a lie…I have my pride you know," she retorted, with the barest hint of a smile on her lips—lips she brushed gently against the Third Child's cheek, causing the boy to blush furiously. In silence, they held their places, consoling one another with mere presence, as both Children drifted off to sleep once more—this time, to the dreamless void.

**

* * *

  
**

**Reverie**

As Dr. Akagi and Major Katsuragi had feared (for different reasons—the good doctor caring mostly about getting Unit-01 back to operational order, while the Operations Director wanting to bring back the First Child), the salvage operation had failed. Not only had the ego-border signals and electromagnetic probes failed to stabilize the First Child's lost form, but the entry plug had ejected, dashing any last hope they might have had of rescuing her.

In its cage, EVA remained motionless, though the armor had been stripped from around its core in an attempt to stimulate it directly—to no avail. EVA seemed as heartless now, as Rei Ayanami did to those who did not know her—or no, worse actually, as EVA had swallowed souls and bodies whole, taking away people's hope.

One of those whose hope was nearly gone was the Third Child, who knelt in the puddle of LCL remaining after the experiment had concluded, clutching onto Rei Ayanami's plugsuit and weeping as if he had lost everything in the world.

"Give her back, damn you," he whispered woodenly, feeling something like an icicle pierce his heart. "Give her back…"

'_She's gone…she's really gone now…just like Mo—'_

A strange tone sounded from the exposed core of EVA, one his ears found all too familiar.

'_What? A above middle C? But that is…'_

And then he was rendered speechless (for several reasons), as rings of azure light flared into existence, revealing the nude form of a pale figure with blue hair and red eyes, with a midnight blue yukata spread beneath her feet, wearing nothing but a smile.

The onlookers gasped in shock and astonishment that the blue-haired girl had emerged…and then gaped at the Third Child's reaction—as the brown-haired boy lost control, rushing over to the side of who he thought was his lost love, embracing her tightly—and capturing her lips with his, uncaring about who might see them. So sudden it was, so intense, that Zefie was left unable to react coherently, with her body responding for her, pulling Shinji tightly to her.

'_Wait…what am I…' _Eyes widening, the Child of Dawn realized her situation, pulling her head back slightly with a moan.

But before she could speak, Shinji had murmured "Rei-chan…I'm so glad" once more and sealed her lips with another kiss, this one gentler and full of emotion.

'_Even if it's only for a while…all I want is to spend a few moments of happiness with someone dear to me…'_

From the Control Center, Maya blinked at what she was seeing on the screen, resisting the urge to cradle her face in her hand.

'_Oh my goddess…that's right…Shinji doesn't know its Zefie in that body,' _she thought to herself, finding that the expression of surprise came naturally. '_Now_ _why do I have the feeling that everything just got a lot more complicated?'_

"I…I…Skari-kun," Zefie whispered, momentarily forgetting her role as, red in the face, she finally managed to break away from the Third Child's hold, as the medical team rushed her off to the infirmary to check her over for injuries, with Shinji uncharacteristically happy, at the thought that Rei had finally returned.

'_This is curious…how a simple touch can inspire such warmth within the chest and loins…is this what _she_ feels when he kisses her? It is strange, but…pleasant…unlike the emotion I feel when I see Siarl. That emotion makes me want to "beat the crap out of" him, but this one makes me feel…light.'_

In the distance, Tabris looked on at the spectacle the two were making of themselves and fought the urge to growl at this turn of events.

'_So…once more, Rei Ayanami finds her way back, and now will likely take back EVA-00. This was a complication not foreseen by my scenario…and how did she manage to wake up, when no other coma victim has yet, a condition I have seen to personally. But this anomaly...it is an obstacle that must be quickly eliminated, no matter if I have to reveal some of my power…'_

**

* * *

  
**

**Redoubt**

Two figures lay entwined in the bed of a cheap motel, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, an act that deceived both of them into thinking they were less alone than were, an act they used to deceive others in their little game of cat and mouse and cloak and dagger. Rogue spy and operations director—or just two old flames reaffirming their existences.

"I'm sure that Ritsuko despises me as an indecent woman now," the purple haired woman murmured, tossing her head as she considered her friend, the so-called friend who kept so many secrets. _'Not that I don't have a few of my own.'_

"Those who live for desire are more real as humans," the unshaven man spoke with one of his little lady-killer smiles on his lips. It was, perhaps, a little unnecessary now, but all the same, old habits were hard to break. "And perhaps…we may deceive them a little."

"Our intelligence agency?" his lover questioned, sniffing, eyes narrowed. "Commander Ikari or Ritsuko? Or even me?"

"Not you, but me—each human alone, each person separated by others by choice and circumstance," the ponytailed man said quietly. "It is tiresome sometimes."

"You're really like my father sometimes…"

The man responded with a simple harrumph, raising one of his eyebrows and chuckling.

"Did you come to see me because you want to know more about _that_?" he asked, seeing through his companion all too easily.

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons," she replied. "I'm honest, don't you think? Right now, it's important that I let you know my wishes. What is the true goal of NERV and Commander Ikari? And what is behind the case of the coma victims? The World Network Council was even implicating hackers and the Children."

"Third Impact."

Like a verbal N2 Mine, those two words seemed to have sucked the very air from the room.

"_What was that?" _Misato hissed, white as a sheet, shaking her lover like a limp dishrag. "What do you mean Third Impact?"

"It is why NERV exists, to wield God's power as a tool…no better than an Angel."

"Then how can one stop them?"

"I want to know that myself."

For a few moments they were quiet, until another question came to Misato's mind.

"The artificial human, Evangelion, and the global network," she spoke suddenly. "Although both were created by humans, don't you think the black box is too large?"

Nothing at first, then…

"Uunngh! Wait, don't dodge my questions by doing that!" she cried out, as Kaji turned to more pleasant diversions than answering. "Ah, no, don't put weird things in! AHHH!"


	60. Logout 26: Fimbulwinter

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Onset of Fimbulwinter**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Apartment 402, Tokyo-3**

As usual, the residence of radiated a sense of calm and comfort—if, of course, one had an extremely Spartan sense for aesthetics, and enjoyed being in the middle if a construction zone. Granted, it was useful in that it provided limited hiding spaces for intruders, but then, Tabris was far from an ordinary intruder. In the past few days, there had been one too many aberrations from his scenario—an issue he planned to remedy here and now with the destruction of Rei Ayanami, something which he felt should not prove too difficult, as the grey haired youth was quite possibly the most powerful of the AIDA-Angels, blessed with the powers of the Fruit of Life, as well as that of the Shadow.

'_I am afraid, First Child, that your actions constitute a possible threat to my scenario,' _he thought to himself as his form took shape within the shadows of the blue-haired girl's apartment. '_But then,_ _even though we are alike, you have chosen to stand with the Lilim and defy fate—choosing destruction in the end, as expected of a descendant of the Usurper. I thought it would be enough to simply place you in a coma and bind your mind to AIDA, but it appears I was wrong…'_

The AIDA-Angel's lips twitched up in amusement as he surveyed his surroundings, eyes tracking across the bleak and lifeless room until they came at last to the figure of a young girl sleeping on her bed. She appeared to be having a pleasant dream, pleasant moans and sighs escaping her lips as she shifted ever so slightly.

'_Ah, trapped in delusion, like your other mortal colleagues…once perhaps I might have asked you to join me in destroying this world's light, that you might cleanse yourself of the Lilim taint you bear. However, I see you have chosen the illusory path, running from the inescapable to buy yourself some time to satisfy your desire for this fleeting, transitory life. Troubled you seem…let me give you peace.'_

Silently, he floated towards the sleeping girl, stretching out a hand so as to touch her and destroy her mind, smirking as he moved closer and closer, the sharp scent of ozone making itself known, with ribbons of energy swirling about in his left hand.

"Goodbye, First Child," he whispered whimsically—only to be smashed aside like a rag doll as the blue-haired girl _moved, _slamming her legs into the grey haired youth's gut, springing up out of bed faster than he would have thought humanly possible with a cry of **"**_**Not-so-loving Boomerang Kick!"**_

The sheer force of the brutal impact sent the AIDA-Angel reeling, as Zefie followed up with twin strikes to the temple and a palm strike to the face that broke Kaworu's nose with a very satisfying crunch as he crashed into the wall. But unfortunately, the Fourth Child was not without his own AIDA-inspired tricks, releasing a fistful of lighting that hurled the Child of Dawn away from him, giving him some space.

'_So she has chosen to fight…even if she knows that it is futile in the end,' _he groused, now somewhat irked—not only had he failed to simply kill the First Child in her sleep, but she had actually dared to strike him, he who was the avatar of judgment, who merely wished to bring the Lilim to their eternal rest. _'And the technique…'_

"You are not a Lilim, and yet you stand with them, so die with them in turn," the Fourth said coldly, once more hurling arcing bolts of electricity at the girl from his hands, serpents of lightning hissing as they coursed through the space between, seeking out their chosen victim like dragons of the lesser void—but striking at nothing, as their target had vanished. "What?!"

'_But a human is incapable of moving at that…'_

Feeling an aura of hostility and bloodlust behind him, Kaworu instinctively threw himself flat, thereby (narrowly) avoiding being bisected by a sword of light in Zefie's right hand. Growling, he rose to his feet, spinning and shaping a lance of energy in his hands to counter the blue-haired girl's odd choice of weapon, drawing upon the innate power of an Angel (but avoiding projecting an AT Field at all costs, as he didn't want to be discovered as such by NERV—not yet anyway).

"No, I'm not a human, I concede that," Zefie observed, slightly singed from the storm of electric current that had shot her way. And yet, she seemed almost amused, her lips tugging up into an ironic twist as she shaped a long dagger in her left hand. "But it seems I am a better messenger of free will than you will ever be, Tabris!"

_Clang!_ Sparks flew as the two duelists clashed now in earnest, twin swords and lance crisscrossing, rebounding, striking once and again with attacks calculated to take the neck of the other's wielder. The Fourth strikes as a powerful wave upon the shore, each blow savage in nature—the First like the capricious power of wind, concealing intent as her motions flow one into the next to repel the enemy—but of a certainty, both are using lethal force within the confines of the room.

Though it was only Tabris who came with the intention to kill, while Zefie's mission is of a different nature, this concern is secondary now that the battle has started.

_Whoosh! _The Child of Dawn sidesteps the hurtling energy lance, pushing it away with one blade of light, while the other thrusts quickly at the temple, an attack Kaworu flips away from just in time. Defending herself in this situation does not mean holding back, as she cannot against an Angel, merely that if her weapon should happen to strike a critical but nonfatal blow, she will refrain from finishing the treacherous being on the spot.

Perhaps in that case, Tabris will still die in due time, if he does not unseal his full might, but that is not Zefie's concern—her concern is with Tabris' mind and the AIDA and fragments of divinity housed within it.

_Whir! Clash! Clang!_ The demonic lance of coruscating energy invades her circle of control each time it is thrust, probing her defenses—it is only natural, as they are not fighting within The World, but the physical world, where if anything, the Angel housing the soul of Adam holds sway.

Still…

"You are angry, it seems, Tabris," she taunted her foe, daggers whirling and crashing upon the lance of light. "How very human of an emotion that is...."

In response, the Seventeenth Angel sneered, his attacks, redoubled in power, joined by a fierce discharge of electricity, catching the Child of Dawn by surprise and throwing her out the open window.

'_It would be too much to hope that she was killed by the fall, wouldn't it?' _the Fourth Child asked himself, walking warily over to the window and leaning over, only for a certain blue-haired girl, having plunged her daggers into the side of the building to use as footholds, to grab onto his mop of grey hair and yank him out of the building along with her, jamming yet another dagger into his free shoulder to keep him from grabbing her in turn. _'AUUGH!'_

While the battle had not been fought in The World, Zefie did have the experience having observed of the instincts of millions in duels against one another or against monsters. She had learned a few things about the art of war, including how to predict an enemy's attacks, to counter them, and to fight with nerves of steel.

Unfortunately, Tabris flailed as he plummeted down, his legs wind-milling about, knocking the Child of Dawn from her perch, sending both of them into a lurching drop to the ground—before both vanished, simultaneously reappearing in the middle of the glassy crater left at Nobeyama after EVA-03's destruction. Standing there in the pale moonlight, they stood, champion of the Angels and champion of the Lilim, weapons drawn and ready as both opponents blurred, rushing at each other, exchanging blows faster than any mortal eye could track.

"I will not let you interfere after I have come this far, First Child," Tabris said with a smirk, loosing another surge of forked lightning. "Drown in your ideals and die, spawn of Lilith!"

But this time, Zefie caught the crackling storm of energy on her blades, _absorbing_ the lightning into one of her swords—and hurling it back, the redirected energy crossing with the original stream, warping one another's trajectories so that both went veering off wildly, grounding out on the sea of glass around them. Her other dagger of light was hurled down in front of the grey-haired youth, coming to ground—detonating into a cross-flare that meted out divine punishment to a rogue angel defying destiny.

"Spawn of Lilith, am I?" Zefie asked, stalking forward, tracing a sword out of thin air to replace the lost dagger, kicking the ground and launching herself at the Angel of Free Will. "Then at my hands of my vessel, meet your demise, avatar of Adam!"

Her movements, fast to begin with, had increased in speed to the point of absurdity, like a bodkin arrow streaking for the Seventeenth Angel's heart. _Whirr bang! _He countered her aerial assault by launching himself bodily into the air, arrow to meet arrow, as lance met dual swords and the two figures collided, two unstoppable forces meeting their match in midair.

And as yet, both had yet to unveil their most powerful techniques, defensive or offensive, not wanting to risk discovery by undesired parties.

'_This being is far more of a threat to my scenario than I had originally calculated,' _Tabris thought to himself, his arms moving on their own as he struck and parried, his mood souring as he was shaken from his usual calm. Having taken the 'First Child' all too lightly in the beginning, he was now fighting for his life, with his desired assassination foiled. '_…she is displaying all the power of an Angel, but is not bound by their will!' _

In his limited state, he had struck fiercely with conventional techniques, attempting to kill his opponent quickly, or at least disable her that he might overpower her with his mind, but he had underestimated the quality of resistance that the First would put up. It was almost as if she were not the First at all, but—

'_That's it…someone is possessing the First's body, a being who knows the power of the Angels and is capable of using it to full advantage,' _he realized, wincing at the thought. This _had_ to be a gambit of the miserable Dark Queen Helba, as no one else would be audacious enough to use a coma victim as a tool except well…him. _'The situation is rapidly spiraling out of control—clearly I will have to end this quickly, taking the risk of exposing my nature to eliminate a major threat.'_

Spinning about to disengage from the effective strike range of the blue-haired girl, the Fourth Child somersaulted backwards, then hurled two shafts of light into the sky, where they streaked on out of sight—continuing out of the atmosphere, where they reamed and gutted the two surveillance satellites that would have passed over the area in a matter of minutes.

'_Brute force is a crude, but effective measure against the delicate Fruit of Knowledge. At the very least, this will buy me some time to utterly destroy the First, or at least the being inside her mind.'_

"You caught me by surprise, Child of Dawn," he said with a smirk, projecting his energy lances once again. "I must say, that was a clever gambit, possessing another body, much as one of we Angels might have done once. Your dear Queen of the Dark has her wits about her, it seems, but it ends now."

Indeed, for an Angel of Vengeance housing the soul of Adam, one might say Tabris had been going easy on his opponents up to now, failing to take those who would try to stop him seriously. Part of this was that he had not found a worthy opponent up until now, with all of his foes proving vulnerable in the end—that is perhaps why he had not been anticipating a struggle this time.

'_For Rei Ayanami could not defend against me when I placed her in a coma in The World…'_

So thinking, he launched one last full-force attack, his weapons crashing against Zefie's dual swords in a shower of sparks as he used the momentum of the blow to spring away, reabsorbing the energy lances into his body, as his eyes lit up with malice. He pulls away, and in an instant, the atmosphere changes, the air freezing, as the true power of the Seventeenth Angel (sans AT Field) was made manifest, his small body floating up in the air, as four wings of light erupted from his back, and glowing lines of power began to be drawn into his form, surrounded by the shadows.

"Meet my demise?" he growled, in a voice that could drive even the crows from a battlefield. "Au Contraire, dear goddess of the wind…I think it time for an unnatural being to die…and what better way than by the power of the wind itself."

A divine power herself, Zefie could feel the unnatural shift in power, could understand the meaning of Tabris' "retreat" of sorts—the soul of Adam caused Second Impact, and while the attack about to be unleashed would not be on that level, it would be damnably close…

'_Close enough, at least, to annihilate every living being within the glass enclosure…a fatal blow guaranteed to destroy any mortal, regardless of how strong…a garden of depletion, draining the power and life energy of the environment itself to satisfy the bloodlust of the Angelic thirst for vengeance.'_

The winds themselves shuddered in protest as Tabris, reaching out, bound them to his will, shaping a howling coil that would tear his opponent into shreds, cut her apart as a katana might shred bundled grass. Even from the distance, his murderous intent was unmistakable, as one way or another, he intended to prevail over this pretender.

Eyes narrowing, Zefie tossed her two dual swords at the glowing figure, sending them flying with all the strength she could manage, detonating them into cross-flares, but to no avail, as the energy released in those blasts was simply absorbed by the Seventeenth Angel as well.

"Why not surrender?" the kindly voice asked from above. "There is no way to prevail against an avatar of fate, for even you will one day die."

Ignoring it, Zefie stepped back, closed her eyes and focused, mumbling a sort of arcane gibberish under her breath…perhaps a prayer to a higher power? Or perhaps…

"It has been an honor to fight against such an impetuous foe, lady of wind!" Tabris cackled as he raises his hands in the air, and with a downward slash, unleashes the untamed powers he had gathered in one final destructive blow, with even the energies bleeding off to the side enough to kill a mere human. "This is your end!"

Space and time themselves distorted, as a massive shaft of light came smashing down with a roar, an attack that cannot be avoided and will never miss, the destructive will of the First Angel taken form and focused against a single spread of earth, guaranteeing total annihilation to any mortal foolish enough to have triggered it.

It hurtles towards the blue-haired girl, who at the last moment closes her eyes as if accepting her death, whispering: "_Etaf fo lasrever,"_ insignificant words swallowed up by the great wave of destruction, drawing nearer, nearer—

"_**Lily of the Hurricane!**__"_

The quiet shout shakes the very air as it is spoken, as the shaft of terrible light crashes into a form of azure light—a shape appearing from empty space, solidifying into a shield shaped a great red spider lily—the hurricane of immortal memories. The wave of destruction that dooms any mortal and destroys all in its path has been stopped.

A great storm rages at the boundary layer, as celestial wrath rains down upon the sepals and petals, each composed of myriad hexagons of light, the greatest protection permitted the goddess, the ancient symbol of immortality through memory—and given that she was a goddess in a world of data—it was said to be invincible in protection against the Wave.

Even so, this is another world, and the power being opposed was also that of the divine—one after another, the tendrils of the flower fall, though sapping away its power a little a little at a time, splintering before the onslaught. One after another, the layers break, until—

"Nuaaaa!"

The power of Second Impact coalesced into a holy weapon of despair, against that might--

With a cry of effort, Zefie draws all she can from the power of her divinity, putting her faith into the great shield.

A sound of something splintering—light washes over where the Child of Dawn stood now unprotected, a cascade of power that crashed down, continuing unabated for over a minute. When it was over, nothing remained in that space, and Kaworu smirked—

"GUH!"

But only until a blade was plunged into his back, jerked forward and up to sever the spinal cord, and a cross-flare erupted with the epicenter in his gut, flinging him away like a rag doll. When he halted himself, there was a squelching sound, as another weapon lanced through him—the tips of a two pronged spear emerged from his lower abdomen. Turning around with great effort and a hateful snarl, he saw a heavily wounded blue-haired girl, her face strained in pain from the injuries sustained as she twisted the spear.

With a last surge of power, his fingers make contact with her forehead and he forces an entrance, intending to destroy the girl from within, or perhaps to possess her form. For if this body were about to be put out of commission, perhaps he could still achieve his goal by taking over the body of the conqueror, tricking all of his foes in turn.

There was a flash of light, and then Tabris found himself within the hinterlands mind of the Child of Dawn, lips slowly smirking at his inevitable victory as he—

"_**Loving Boomerang Tackle!"**_

—was ruthlessly smashed aside by a glowing Longhorn Grunty, upon which rode a saffron-haired girl clad in a flowing white dress, holding a long red spear with two shafts twisting around themselves to form a helix and then becoming straight—said spear leveled at Tabris' heart.

"Didn't I warn you? You alone, I do not bless," the saffron-haired girl whispered in a deathly tone, glaring at Siarl with cold and angry eyes, a glare that caused the Seventeenth Angel to try to escape from the mind he had invaded, but to no avail. "It's no use…this space is under _my _data jurisdiction, no one may leave or enter without my will.'

Surely with his Angelic heritage and power, Tabris could find a way out of this place, even if that place was inside the mind of a being greater than human who clearly did not wish for him to escape. So within the mind, where it would not be detected, he raised his AT Field—the most powerful of that of any Angel—a defense that was instantly shredded by the rampaging power of a Longhorn Grunty as it pierced through like a demonic bullet, with the girl Zefie jamming her Lancea Longinus into the AIDA-Angel's gullet, protect breaking it in one blow..

'_Oh…crap.'_

"And now, you can get out of my mind…" the Child of Dawn said with a wicked smile, lifting her right arm to reveal the sepals of the Twilight Bracelet. "_**Data Drain!"**_

An agonizing scream was heard as both returned to the real world, with Tabris having fallen into a coma due to his injuries.

'_Objective completed.'_

* * *

**NERV HQ**

It was another late night for the Queen of the Dark, though this time she had volunteered to stay at NERV so that her 'beloved sempai' might be able to get some rest after the harrowing trials of the last few days. Granted, she did harbor a little bit of concern for her superior, but staying late had benefits of its own, among them the fact that no one else would use the coffee machine, and that she effectively had unsupervised access to the MAGI.

'_And with the codes retrieved from within Casper, the access is indeed total and unsupervised…' _she mused with a smile, as she selected certain events that had been recorded in the MAGI over the last few hours and erased them, as well as re-enabling the Angel Alert system, which she had bypassed at the first sign of trouble. After all, it would be a troublesome thing if her scenario were to meet with interference from the rest of NERV—or if certain sensor networks around Nobeyama had retained evidence of a certain battle. _'It is a good thing that MAGI can hack most systems on its own, except those which the Goddess personally blesses or those I forbid it to, of course…'_

At long last, the Fourth Child had been neutralized, though not yet killed, as it was still necessary to confront the AIDA-Angel in The World in order to complete its destruction, lest the Lost Ones never return.

'_That is, after all, the main reason behind having to hold back against him…and as one knows, it is much more difficult to do that when the opponent is attempting to kill. Tabris has multiple plots in The World as well as here, and once he is hooked up to the network for monitoring, his mind should return to The World—where he can at last be dealt with. Besides, as long as he is not dead in this world—yet—we have not violated the Dead Sea Scrolls, although I'm sure SEELE will be…most displeased.'_

A dark, slightly contemptuous, expression flitted across her face for a moment, threatening to linger there before she firmly dismissed it. It had been getting harder to hide who she was due to Agent Kaji's snooping around, among other things, though at least he only believed her to be Bith the Black for now. She tolerated the man because he like her, he sought the truth, but also because he was a useful tool, one who would not hesitate to do what was necessary.

'_And I myself have a certain dislike of firearms and real world weapons, despite being a fierce warrior in The World itself.'_

Sometimes, she wondered how this grand play would turn out, with the Lost Ones, the fragments of Lycoris, the dothackers, and the death of children, which she still felt guilty about. Maya knew that it was probably Tabris whose machinations had led the Children to the recent states of pain they were experiencing, taking away their choices by imposing his will over others—not fate for all that he liked to spout out jargon and psychology.

Her AI Agent, the Obsidian Knight Balthasar, reported that conditions in The World continued to be stable, with the phantom dothackers going out in small groups to explore and investigate rumors, as they happened to be the best source of information—certainly the best that was unfiltered by C.C. Corp.

'_That company has almost as many secrets as NERV,' _she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. _'Almost as many. Which reminds me, I need Bith to do me another favor…'_

_

* * *

  
_

**Human Instrumentality Committee**

Hearing that the Fourth Child was now in a coma due to massive injuries, the Committee of Old Men was in an uproar, as they were furious that the Child they had selected to infiltrate NERV had been struck down—not by a computer virus, but by an attacker of some sort.

"What is Ikari thinking?" rumbled one of the great monoliths. "First EVA-01 becomes a god, and now the Seventeenth is struck down?"

"Indeed, it should not be possible this early…a severe disruption in the scenario it is," spoke another, thoroughly unhappy with the way things were going.

"Well then," interjected Chairman Keel Lorenz. "Perhaps it is time for the bell to ring at last."


	61. Logout 27: Entanglement

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Entanglement**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Outer Dungeon**

With a minor grunt of exertion, the mental avatar of AIDA-Angel Tabris wrenched itself free from the vessel it inhabited, returning once again via convenient network uplink to the world of corruption and corrosion created by AIDA—the last redoubt available to him after his humiliating defeat in the other world. No, not a total defeat, as with time he could regenerate his vessel and execute his plans, but after seeing the Queen of the Dark's (_brilliant, _he grudgingly conceded) tactic of using the Child of Dawn to oppose him in the vessel of the First Child, it was quite clear that this false mirage created by humanity needed to be subjugated, ground under his heel until any illusions of free will or rebellion were quashed forever.

'_Indeed, even that false goddess was not enough to completely destroy me,' _he thought to himself, completely unaware of Helba's orders in that regard. _'But that is the trend throughout Lilim history, with the impetuous Children of the Usurper continually warring against the inevitable…occasionally gaining a minor victory, but in time they will fall. That is fate, after all…the oldest law of the universe, which no mortal might resist…or any mortal creation. Choice is only an illusion…'_

From the moment he had first opened his eyes and become entwined with AIDA, experiencing all the evils of the world firsthand, seeing the darkness that lurked within the hearts of the Lilim, he had known this, as it was his role to become humanity's anti-existence, to act as the instrument of their destruction.

'_When the Old Men "created" me, they had no idea of what they wrought. Those poor meddling fools, thinking that they could control an Angel—especially one bonded to the supreme power of AIDA itself. So I have been damaged…it is of no consequence, as I will simply rebuild myself by calling on the shadow, becoming a perfect fusion of AIDA-Angel-Epitaph…and the captured fragments of the Child of Twilight. I will become…a God.'_

His lips drew back into a cruel, mocking smirk as he considered the great unfolding circumstances to come. Certainly, the Queen of the Dark would attempt to put up a fight, as would the Child of Dawn and the Fallen Goddess, but in the end, it would be he, AIDA-Angel Tabris, who held the all the cards here. Soon, he would obliterate any last lingering shreds of the Lilim as just desserts for their attack upon his physical vessel…

'_All you can do is attempt to delay your destruction, my dear Lilim, an attempt that will fail in the end, as all things do—at least, all that has a beginning. Can you feel it, old men, dothackers, Children? Can you feel it closing in on you? I can, foolish Lilim, but perhaps there is something I have not properly thanked you for, as you taught me the purpose of your lives. The purpose of a Lilim is to die, as alone as any Lilim lives, stripped of delusions of things like hope."_

He was a Messenger of the end, and the time was coming when he would pass judgment on those who sought to thwart him.

'_Strike me down once you have, but now…now I have become more powerful than you could possibly imagine! And you will soon learn the true power of a Cursed Wave, a strength not born of mortal hands, but of celestial might. For I am destined to immortality, having eaten of the Fruit of Life, while those born of knowledge are born only to die…'_

The blistering winds of plague swarmed around the AIDA-Angel, bringing to him the sweet emotions of discord and despair upon which he fed, shadows infusing themselves into every pore and every cranny of the damaged Tabris, rebuilding him, twisting him, shaping him in a weapon against which there was no defense—the personification of Shadow itself.

An evil cackle rang out over the land.

**

* * *

  
**

**Maya's Apartment**

After long hours in the sterile and unwelcoming halls of NERV, there were few things Maya Ibuki looked forward to more than a chance to eat, have a hot shower, log into The World, and sleep—all preferably with company, and not necessarily in the listed order. By the time her extra shift had ended, with the complications it entailed that being the senior officer on duty entailed (meaning she was the one who had to make a note of such things as Kaworu Nagisa's collapse, among other things), it was already daylight and she was exhausted.

Fortunately (aside from the Nobeyama incident she had erased from records), things had mostly been quiet, with the calm before the storm lasting long enough for her to leave Headquarters and return to her place of residence, a small, modest apartment befitting someone of her similarly modest rank and nature, the door opening and closing with a small _click_—just as rings of azure light flashed in momentarily, and the form of a somewhat injured First Child appeared clad in a simple white dress one might expect Aura or Zefie to wear, looking around the main room curiously.

'_It is better furnished than the hovel I've been living in,'_ the blue-haired girl noted with a hint of amusement, '_Not that that is particularly a difficult effect to achieve…given how little that Rei Ayanami tended to need for her survival. Fufufu…when I saw her closet I almost wondered if she had a school uniform fetish.'_

A somewhat entertaining thought, if not the most accurate summation of Rei Ayanami's wardrobe preferences—for while Zefie was in her body, she did not exactly share the First Child's fashion sense, or her attitude towards life, for that matter. But that was not the greatest of mysteries to the blue-haired girl either, as the Child of Dawn had come to realize after the Third Child's…rather passionate…kiss.

'_It's obvious that he loves her…and if the look in his eyes was how Skari looked at both her and Lycoris very often, I can understand why they came to love him. Hmm…Skari, the Norse word for seagull, both a symbol of freedom as well as the god Njord, who in myth was once beloved of Skadi…I wonder if either or both of them know the strange meanings to their names.'_

With a small smile, Zefie curtsied to the Queen of the Dark in greeting, inclining her head to the infamous hacker—and one of her longtime friends.

"I'm surprised that you live in a place like this," commented the Child of Dawn, a note or two of amusement in her voice. "Knowing that you rule the Slums, I almost thought you'd be living next to the First Child in the construction district."

'_If Helba lives this simply in this world, I wonder how grandmother lives…knowing the old hag, she probably built herself a great sanctum of technology in the middle of the city…'_

"Is that not-so-subtle hint that you want to be assigned to better housing?" the mousy brunette answered wryly. "Besides, one has to have a little bit of balance in both worlds, right? And I'm not desperate enough for housing that I would live in that area of the city."

Zefie shot the Queen of the Dark a look of annoyance, as if to remind her who had to live there at the moment.

"It's been…an experience, both being in this world and playing a role," she admitted with a frown. "Fufufu, I better understand what it's like for the shadowed ones who play The World now, since no one knows who they are there."

Then her tone turned teasing, sticking out her tongue at the mousy brunette.

"Of course, I think you are more like me, since you are much more famous as an infamous hacker than a quiet little NERV tech—even if you are shameless with grandmother in both worlds," the girl ribbed. "I mean, I understand the part about keeping your enemies close, but that's a bit much wouldn't you agree?"

"Heh," Maya replied, rolling her eyes. "She just turned out to be a more interesting villain than I thought—"

"—in bed with a rope?" Zefie shot back, having apparently wandered far enough in the sea of data to pick up pop culture references to how to spice up fortune cookies. "Talk about ties that bind."

It was Maya's turn to give her companion a withering glare, to which the Child of Dawn simply chuckled playfully, before lifting her hands in surrender.

"…fine, that was low," the blue-haired girl admitted with a smile, as she moved on to give her report. "Anyway… our objectives have been met. The spirit of EVA-01 has been awakened and the physical form of Tabris has been neutralized—but you already know both of these facts, I'm sure. It was convenient that there are no Section 2 guards in the area around the First's residence, as if she is expendable. Why is that, other than the fact that she's half Angel?"

"It is because of the Dummy Plug system—Rei Ayanami is a clone, as you may or may not have realized," Maya relayed, walking forward and patting Zefie on the head. "Something of an artificial being, though that makes her no less alive, and no less an individual. As for Tabris…excellent work. With his physical form crippled beyond repair, he will no doubt shift his attention to The World, where he will undoubtedly be concentrating his efforts on destroying me. He did figure out your identity, yes?"

"Just as you say, Helba," Zefie acknowledged. "Yui on the other hand, sees me as Lycoris, who I am not anymore."

"No, you are your own person, as Rei is Rei and not Lilith."

"An interesting parallel, I will admit."

Maya Ibuki gave a mild harrumph and reached out to take the blue-haired girl's hand.

"Well, we have much to do yet today, including a visit so you may see Morganna…in the flesh as it were," the bridge tech noted with a small smile. "There we will discuss a last objective to be completed. And since it would be a bad idea if we were seen together on the streets…"

"Fufufu…oh alright, just rely on the wind," the smaller girl chanted, raising a hand.

Rings of azure light flared into existence, whisking the two of them away to another place in Tokyo-3.

* * *

**Morganna's Apartment**

Breakfast was an interesting affair at Morganna's apartment that day, what with a Goddess of Dusk, a Goddess of Dawn, and a Queen of the Dark all gathered around a table, eating a characteristically European style breakfast that Asuka would no doubt have enjoyed, had she been in the land of the waking at the moment (and on good terms with the others present, which was no guarantee). It was also interesting in that the only one who had really gotten any sleep the night before (and not just the few minutes here and there that a tech could get away with when no one was there) was Morganna, who seemed to be in an abnormally good mood.

"Can you really not function without a dose of caffeine in the morning?" the fallen Goddess quipped at the mousy brunette, as she refilled Maya's coffee mug. "Here, have some more of your vile concoction, Queen of the Dark Coffee."

To which Maya responded by glowering at the woman who had at various times been her mortal enemy, worthy opponent, uneasy ally, and most recently, her lover. It wasn't entirely her fault that she was somewhat frazzled this morning, after all…

"I have it on good authority that you enjoy a good quad-espresso sometimes, so don't even start with me," the bridge tech growled good-naturedly. "Thank you for breakfast, by the way. I see you even went through the trouble of getting my favorite coffee blend."

"Twas the least I could do, after you and Zefie came up with a way to partially neutralize the Fourth," the Goddess of Dusk noted. "Though in my opinion, Tabris deserves worse, after what he did to…"

"I know," Zefie spoke for the first time during their meal together, looking up from her helping blueberry crêpes. "Unforgivable…that is yet another reason I cannot bless him."

"A sentiment I completely agree with," Morganna said offhand, only for her granddaughter to cut in.

There was a moment of silence, before it was shattered by the youngest one present.

"You would, grandma…since you've never blessed anyone in your life," Zefie replied in a deadpan expression. "Though Helba might disagree, seeing as you two are… 'bitter enemies.'"

The last two words were said with the appropriate air quotes, and if someone who knew Rei Ayanami were to have laid eyes on the blue-haired girl at that moment, they would likely be stunned (or at least, severely amused) to see her sticking her tongue out at someone. And given that Morganna and Helba did know her as a student, the result was laughter all around.

"I'll drink to that," concurred the Queen of the Dark in quiet, musical tones. "After all, I've already been on the receiving end of her curses a few times. Can we all agree that thus far, Operation Wavebreak has been a success?"

"Yes, though you do realize that we will have to involve the other dothackers, correct?" Morganna asked of her counterpart. "As I am beginning to think that eliminating the Angels, along with SEELE, will be a large enough chore as it is."

"Indeed…though we have planned for this," Maya responded with a brief smile. "You do remember the other parts to Operation Wavebreak, yes?"

"Fufufu…those silly old farts are going to go berserk, aren't they?" Zefie asked by way of answer, chuckling all the while. "Serves them right for what they want to do."

"Yes…if everything is on schedule, they should have sent Kaji on his final mission right about now," Maya said with a mild harrumph. "Losing a perfectly useful Agent is rather…troublesome, as Tsukasa would put it."

"Now why do I have the feeling that there is something you're not telling me, my dear enemy?" Morganna asked of her fellow queen. "Somehow, I doubt it's just simple distrust of my poor helpless self."

"Helpless…_riiight,"_ Zefie responded in a voice just dripping with sarcasm. "You are about as far from helpless as anyone could be, grandmother."

"That much is true enough," the Queen of the Dark answered neutrally. "You are about as far from helpless as Skari is from his former self. Speaking of the Bracelet Bearer…I'm curious. When you responded to his kiss…was that just Rei's body reacting instinctively, or was that you."

Zefie flushed and looked away, as a faint knock was heard at the apartment door.

"Ah, our guests have arrived," murmured the tall, dark haired 'Yumi Aranami', as she rose from the table and headed to open the door.

A moment of fussing with the locks, and it opened with a small click, revealing the presence of Hikari Horaki and Shinji Ikari, both now out of the hospital, and who had come immediately upon receiving a summons from Morganna.

"Welcome again to my humble abode, dothackers," the Goddess of Dusk said in her role as Yumi Aranami. "We've been expecting you."

She turned to head back to the dining room, beckoning the others to follow.

'_We?'_ Shinji and Hikari thought as one as they stepped into the room. _'Who else could Aranami-sensei have with us who knows we are dothackers?'_

Nevertheless, they proceeded onwards, eyes scanning the apartment as they entered—and coming to sudden halt as they saw just who was waiting for them.

'_Wait, Rei-chan…and Ibuki-san?! What are they…? Are they dothackers too?'_

'_Rei, along with me, was someone that Rumor first approached to become a dothacker a long time ago, and she was also the first to fall into a coma. But why is Ibuki-san here…I know she used to be a dothacker, but just who is she…'_

"And now we are assembled, Shinji-kun, Hikari-san," Maya said by way of greeting. "Come, join us for breakfast, as we have much to discuss and very little time."

"It concerns Reimeiki-chan," Zefie said quietly, much to Shinji's surprise, "as well as something called Operation Wavebreak."

**

* * *

  
**

**Abandoned Warehouse, Outskirts of Tokyo-3**

He leaned against the wall of an old building on the outskirts of Tokyo-3, a building that had been a milestone on his personal quest for truth. It was here that he had discovered the first of the many organizations behind the Marduk Institute was a dummy corporation, here that he had gone to investigate the first piece of information he had received from his contacts, here he sometimes came here to think—and so it was appropriate that he should have come here when his life came to an end.

Far better to spend the last moments in quiet contemplation of what he had discovered—and what he had already passed on to others, than to deny that the end might come. In his line of work as a rogue spy (working for four different factions, no less!), it was pretty much inevitable that one of them would get tire of him eventually and throw him to the wolves, especially after his role in the kidnapping of NERV's Subcommander.

'_If I had refused, SEELE would have executed me…but because I agreed, my executor will be an Agent of NERV. At the very least, my last actions bring me closer to the truth…I have no regrets, really. I always knew this would be my end when I signed away my life…'_

Behind him, a large but rusty ventilation fan spun ponderously in the light of dusk, and Ryoji Kaji smiled wryly as he thought of his time in the land of twilight, how Helba had revealed to him some of the mysteries of NERV and corrected him on others, how he had attempted to find out who Helba was but had not _quite_ succeeded.

Oh, he had his suspicions, but no concrete proof, even if the Queen of the Dark had seen the spy business as something of a great game (and he really couldn't complain—her methods were effective, after all, and she was quite the chessmaster, possibly ranking up there with the Committee and Gendo). And slowly but surely, he had come to understand the severity of the conflict in both worlds, and why the infamous hacker was so interested in NERV, especially after he himself risked life and limb fighting for the sake of Net Slum Tartarga alongside the Queen and her AI army.

'_So she had me as an operative in the real world, as well as Yumi Aranami and Bith the Black. I wonder who else she had working for her…'_

But there was no more time for thought, as the door to the warehouse opened, a shadowy figure stepping through—one of those who had worked with him as part of NERV Intelligence.

"You're a bit late," he quipped, thinking those to be appropriate last words.

A shot rang out, and a spy slumped lifelessly to the ground, looking in death just as he had in life. But to the other's surprise, that spy was not Special Investigator Ryoji Kaji, as it was the NERV Intelligence Agent who had been shot and killed by—

'_Hm? This is interesting…'_

Kaji's eyebrows rose as he looked upon his savior, a somewhat familiar looking man leaning casually on the wall, sipping an espresso, of all things.

"Let me guess, your old job isn't as far in the past as you said," he snarked in amusement. "Is it, Lieutenant? I'm guessing your employer wants me alive then…?"

He trailed off, prompting his fellow agent to provide him with a name or something of the sort to make addressing him easier.

"I never said it was over, did I, Fili?" the bespectacled man replied with a nod, draining his espresso to the last. "And as I said before, names are just symbols, but if you must have one, than Ichiro will do. Ichiro Sato."

"And what does your employer want with me…Bith?" he puzzled out. _'If his employer is Helba, and Maya is not Bith, then that means…Maya is Helba?' _"I'm supposed to be dead, remember?"

"So I am, Fili the White," the man responded, acknowledging the point. "The associate of our mutual employer, the Queen. As for what she wants…well, there are things only a dead man can do and get away with."

"Various…errands, you might say?"

"Exactly," said Lt. Makoto Hygua, the man who in this guise was known as the Queen of the Dark's most trusted Agent, handing him a latex mask with the features of the man called Kazushi Watarai, one who had disappeared from the public eye a long time ago. "Here, put this on, and help me destroy the evidence."

"I never thought you of all people…"

"That's rather the point, isn't it? Come along now, Fili, we're behind…"

At the sound of footsteps, Makoto whirled, firing his pistol from the hip to kill the operative of SEELE who had snuck up on them.

"And now we have a matched pair. Perfect."

* * *

**Human Instrumentality Committee**

In the aftermath of the Vice-Commander's escape from captivity at the hands of the rogue Agent Ryoji Kaji, the Old Men were most…displeased, with the Committee divided between those who wanted to openly take action against NERV and those who counseled patience, as currently, with a false "God" on their side in the form of EVA-01, as well as two other operational EVAs, intervention would prove futile.

"NERV has dared to openly defy the Committee," rumbled one of the monoliths, ire in his tone. "And there is the matter of the satellites that were destroyed by unknown causes. Could NERV be behind this as well?"

"It could well be the work of Ikari," concurred another, echoing the general atmosphere of discontent permeating the chamber. "He is after all, a master of deception."

"So we have known for a long time, and yet we gave him NERV," yet another spoke into the dim room. "Something must be done…but not before the remaining Angels are defeated."

"Agreed," affirmed the Chairman. "The mass production of the EVA Series has now become our foremost priority. The time will soon come to punish Ikari for his crimes."


	62. Login 22: Mythos

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Mythos**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Roof, Morganna's Apartment Building**

Upon the roof of the sanctum of the Phantom Queen stood two Children, gazing quietly out upon the lights of the city as they flickered on, one after another, a rolling cascade of illumination that banished darkness from small enclosures and oft-used streets. It was darker than it had been when the Third had last looked upon the Fortress City of humanity after his battle with Matarael, but this was understandable, as in the wake of the last two Angel incidents, people had slowly been trickling away from Tokyo-3, headed to spots in the countryside that weren't first on the kaiju hit list.

Then again, night in Tokyo-3 had always been a time of silence, and neither of the two Children as inclined to break that trend, as they were relatively meek in the real world. That is, until Shinji Ikari, who had been stealing glances at the First Child, found himself looking into a pair of crimson eyes, having been caught at last.

"Ikari-kun…we can't keep meeting like this," the blue-haired girl murmured quietly, looking into the brown-haired boy's eyes. "I know…you have feelings for me, but…"

She trailed off, not too surprisingly, as Rei Ayanami was not exactly the most vociferous person in the world, and Zefie was trying to play the role, as well as sort out her own feelings about the rather passionate kiss she had been surprised with after finally leaving the inner world of EVA-01.

"But what?" Shinji asked softly, tilting his head questioningly as he reached out and took her hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "Am I a nuisance to you, Rei-chan?"

"Not at all," Zefie replied, sighing as she looked down at her feed. "You are the opposite of nuisance, and your hands are…warm. But…"

"I hated myself for not being able to protect you, you know," the brown-haired boy spoke once again, more determined "I hated that I wasn't there to keep you from going into a coma, and when you were absorbed into Unit-01…I couldn't bear the thought of losing you again. That's why I…I wanted to see you so much. And yet when I see you, I can't express myself, blather on about things, losing control. I just…"

He swallowed a lump in his throat as he saw how the blue-haired girl before him was blushing, with a tinge of pink just visible on her alabaster cheeks.

"Skari-kun," Zefie whispered seriously, bringing up her free hand to trace the lines of Shinji's face. "Listen, I—I'm not who you think I am. There are things about me that you don't know, secrets bound up in both worlds…"

"That doesn't matter to me," the Third Child broke in, placing a hand over the blue-haired girl's, in an intimate moment together in the moonlight. "You do, and nothing in the world—either world—could change that. I lost you once, just as everything came crashing down—I don't want to lose you again. That's why I…"

Unable to bear it anymore, he leaned forward to as to capture the vulnerable First Child's lips with his own, only for Zefie to turn her head so that his lips but grazed her cheek.

"Don't," she said with a sad smile, stiffening slightly at his kiss. "Doing that now…"

"Do you hate it?" Shinji asked, pulling away slightly in accordance to her wishes.

"No, that's not why…" the blue haired girl breathed, looking up at the moon. "It's because—it's because it would be a lie, Ikari-kun, because you have someone else in your heart."

"That's right," Shinji said ruefully, thinking of the last person he had watched the moon with, the silver-haired girl called Reimeiki Hakubo in this world. "But I…it's just that I was so happy to see you…"

"I know, Ikari-kun," Zefie sighed, giving his hand a gentle squeeze and flashing him a beautiful smile that made his heart almost forget to beat. "That's why…I will wait until she returns, because she is like me. I think that to love someone is to walk together, and in walking together to seek the best path…so be patient with me please, Ikari-kun."

There were no tears on the face of the blue-haired girl as she said this, only a poignant melancholy as she thought back into ancient, poignant memories.

"Ikari-kun…when I was trapped inside EVA, I met your mother," the Child of Dawn murmured, changing the subject to one Shinji would likely want to hear about.

"My mother?" he repeated, blinking as something hot welled up inside him, salty tears pushed past the ego border by these last words. "What…what did she say?"

"She was glad she could protect you, Ikari-kun," the blue-haired girl replied with a soft half-smile. "And she said that she loved you, even now."

"She…"

But the Third Child could speak no more, overcome with emotion, sobs breaking out from behind the mask he wore, as Zefie stepped forward and embraced him, whispering the words of Yui into his ears.

"Let me tell you of my journey, Ikari-kun…and of the worlds of mind..."

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

The Mistress of Net Slum stood alone on the grand bridge in the center of her domain, her brown eyes gazing out over The World she had sworn to protect, surveying the damage remaining from the grand battle that had taken place in her city. With the help of her elite AIs, she had repaired most of the data corruption that had occurred, but some inevitably remained, as AIDA's power had not been completely broken, and AIDA-Angel Tabris remained within The World, a being with a vast and inhuman mind who wished to destroy her and everything she represented.

'_It is a great irony that the Angel of Free Will would become a slave to such a role, taking in all the evils of the world for power. Such an exchange is not becoming of a divine messenger, and is instead far more human that I would like to admit. Of course, it is said that the Angels are evolutionary pathways that were rejected by humanity, thus being humanity's shadow, so in that way it is appropriate. Now, if only the Committee of Old Men could be eliminated, then I would not have to worry about the impending danger of the EVA series, but…for now, that faction must remain to counterbalance NERV.'_

As a rule, Helba did not enjoy violence in the "real" world, or at least did not enjoy the sight of blood, which is part of why the Angel battles disgusted her. Unfortunately, she had a weak stomach for gore, something that had been true since early in her youth. This was part of the reason she had been drawn to The World and the hacking profession in the first place, as it was clean, efficient, and almost entirely bloodless.

Once, it had been a way to interact with others without having to worry about consequences…but now, now it was her home in more ways than one, though slowly, she had found that her two lives were blending into one, as most did over time.

'_One day soon, this all will end…as I know full well. I have made arrangements for that day, but for now, all I can say is this: that is shall not come so long as the threat of the Angels and those other factions are still among us. As a Queen, it is my duty to protect my people, to act as the force of Chaos to counter Order, providing sanctuary and refuge to those who truly need it.'_

As one of the great powers of The World, the Queen of the Dark approached the level of divinity, though she was wise enough not to class herself among them—even if she had helped to defeat the Goddess of Dusk long ago.

'_There will one day be an end…but I will not be the one to hasten it. I am a force of preservation to AIDA's ruin, the two sides of the unacknowledged shadow, part of the unseen struggle that takes place beneath the surface of The World. Most people think of this place as nothing but a game, but it is something more than that, for it was here that a Goddess was born, a goddess created by humanity, as humanity was supposedly created in the image of a God. And perhaps it will be here that the cycle of destruction and rebirth will at last be broken…'_

So she had thought, fighting on the parapets and bridges of the Slums against the threat of AIDA, a power similarly born of humanity, like its collective unconscious rising up against it, as if the World was a manifestation of the mind of Gaia, and each human a mere neuron within it. Helba smiled at the thought, shaking her head wistfully as she considered the world below.

Behind her sounded slow, methodical footsteps, and the Mistress of net Slum turned about in curiosity—coming face to face with a tall steam gunner dressed in mostly in blue and white, with traces of leather scattered through his outfit, a long, flowing scarf, orange sunglasses—and a huge metal cylinder around his left arm.

'_Ovan, Epitaph Wielder of Corbenik, otherwise known as Tri-Edge, first of the AIDA-PCs.'_

"Greetings, old friend," the red-clad blademistress spoke with a hint of warmth, relaxing slightly. While in one sense Ovan might be considered an enemy, at the moment, he was more of an enigma pursuing his own agenda (as well as a skilled hacker in his own right, something Helba had the utmost respect for). "Have you come at last to pledge undying loyalty?"

Ovan's lips twitched once with amusement as he took in the greeting.

"I'm afraid the answer is no," the enigmatic one spoke, shrugging his shoulders. "I have merely come to give my compliments to a player of a most intriguing and dangerous game. You did well in protecting Net Slum."

"It would have been helpful if you had lent a hand, or a claw, is it may be," the Queen of the Dark said pointedly. "Though I understand you may have a slight conflict of interest, as a powerful AIDA-PC as well as an Epitaph User."

"Oh yes, but even among AIDA, factions exists…the one under sway of Tri-Edge, opposed to the one controlled by Siarl," the Steam Gunner replied, moonlight glinting off his orange sunglasses. "It is the difference between a plague and a cancer."

"One interested in humanity and so melding with a host to study emotion, while the other merely wishes to destroy," intoned the Mistress of Net Slum, stating her observations plainly. "Arising from the void, its paths have diverged, much like those of its inadvertent creators and teachers."

"When AIDA first awakened, I suspect that the first thing it saw was a player killer," the man mused aloud, his thoughts turning to another avenue. "And so it has evolved to infect players and awaken their shadows…but I wonder about Bearer of the Bracelet, he who is also an AIDA-PC. I wonder as how to the AIDA I bestowed onto him is evolving, and how it has interacted with the power of the Twilight."

"Indeed…you restrain the aberrant key with Corbenik's power, sealing it away from your consciousness, but the Dark Evangel's situation is somewhat different," Helba acknowledged with a nod. "Though I wonder how long either of your protections will last with Siarl's machinations wearing at them. In a sense, you are living on borrowed time, aren't you…Tri-Edge."

"Are not all of us who play the great game?" Ovan rejoined rather expansively. "In time, all of us shall fade into the Twilight, much as I seek the Twilight Key."

"The power of salvation or destruction at the user's whim," voiced the cool musical tones of the Queen. "I wonder, Ovan…which choice will be yours? Succumbing to the Terror of Death, becoming the power of Rebirth…or both?"

"Heh…that path has yet to be written, whether by faith or betrayal."

"How interesting that you should mention betrayal…as it was that of a Goddess which awoke Skeith in the world before."

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation – Lost Ground Arche Kloen Falls**

He stood alone upon a rocky outcrop, surrounded on three sides by torrents of water, like power all to droplets turned, cascading down an ancient temple's walls. A small blue-silver haired boy with golden eyes, he was the Flick Reaper Zelkova, leader of Moon Tree and heir to Net Slum, dressed in white Japanese-styled clothing with an oversized fan on his back, concealing his true nature as a warrior. As for why he was here, the little boy had found that this place was ideal for contemplation, with the white noise of falling water washing away distractions and outer thoughts.

'_Net Slum barely survived against the incursion of AIDA-Angel Bardiel and the AIDA Mirages he summoned…and though he was defeated in the end, Siarl is still within The World. Because of what was done to my previous incarnation by _him_, I can feel AIDA's presence. A tingling on the edge of consciousness, an irregularity in the flow of data…the Wave builds and draws back.'_

Truly, Zelkova was worried, for he had seen the devastation wrought upon Net Slum by the power of the horde—and how much victory had cost. The defenders had held against the might of the storm, but it was not as if they had emerged unscathed, either.

'_Shadows born of void return others to the void from which all things began…'_

But his thoughts were interrupted by a warbling sound, as golden rings of light rippled into existence once again, lingering in the air just long enough to herald the arrival of Tomoyami of the Shadow, Chaotic PK, dothacker, and comrade in arms. She seemed…more pensive than usual, her pale face drawn and weary as she clutched her scythe tightly, as if seeking an enemy.

"You may put away your weapon, Tomoyami," the small boy murmured softly, his voice somehow cutting through the background noise. "I defeated the AIDA-Monster here before you arrived, though it does seem that Siarl is beginning to act directly, instead of through his pawns."

"You would know, I suppose," responded the Unyielding Shadow, walking forward to join her fellow Flick Reaper on his perch. "Since you effectively died once at his hands already…but apparently while I was indisposed, there was an attack on Net Slum?"

For the first time in her memory, Zelkova's lips twitched into a frown as the heir to Net Slum shook his head.

"Yes, by AIDA Mirages under the sway of Bardiel, the AIDA-Angel who possessed Aruna," he replied. "With the help of the fallen goddess and the Child of Dawn, it was repulsed, but…"

"…with great loss," Tomoyami filled in, eyes distant and clouded. "I know of loss on the road I have chosen. The p-player behind Aruna is dead, Zelkova—he will never return to The World. Or to me."

"The true death…" the heir to Net Slum whispered, thinking back to the time of Twilight. "Yes…I know death well on the path we both walk. And even if one avenges oneself, the feeling is but that of void…there is no satisfaction in it."

"Do you know…rumor has it that this too was a place of death, where a sacrifice was made to push back Shadow?"

"Of course I know the rumor…you are forgetting who I used to be, I think. Though we change and are not who we were in the past, we carry those memories with us, shaping who we are now."

"Who you are now indeed. Well then, Lord Zelkova, would you grant me the honor of a duel?" Tomoyami asked at last, the barest of smiles on her face. "I find that I think most clearly when in the moment's flow, and I have been idle long enough these last few weeks."

The blue-silver haired boy raised an eyebrow, but nodded, unsealing the mighty Goddess Scythe and raising it in salute.

"If it will satisfy you, then by all means."

Mirroring his movements, the Unyielding Shadow withdrew her own demonic scythe—then leapt forward to attack, the two weapons crashing together bringing cacophony to the once-peaceful space, a familiar battle requiem in which at least one of the two found a momentary peace.


	63. Logout 28: Willful Separation

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Willful Separation**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Ω Warring City State Lumina Cloth**

There was a price to fame, as the Dark Evangel was fast discovering in his own way. He had returned to the bustling city of Lumina Cloth for a necessary errand, accompanied by his friend and partner, the Unyielding Shadow, the two of them drawing looks and mutters as they appeared in azure rings of light. It had been some time since either one of the duo of Chaotic PK and feared PKK had been seen in their traditional roles in The World, and some had wondered if in the wake of their victory against Eris, Bringer of Strife, the two had turned their attention to the Arena full time.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" muttered Tomoyami of the Shadow to her companion, with the crowds unsure whether to press in closer to the nigh-legendary PK…or to avoid her like the plague in case she took notice of their individual identities and decided to go on a killing spree.

"We don't exactly have a choice, do we?" Skari asked by way of reply, his robes of silver etched with red billowing behind him as he strode on towards the Arena. "We're lucky to have come this far, and it's time for the final step. We'll need all our strength for the battle to come."

"Agreed…Siarl will be our most dangerous foe to date, given that—"

"—he was the puppetmaster behind Eris' actions, based on what Morganna told us during the breakfast a couple days ago," the blue-haired boy finished, his mouth set into a tight, grim line in an attempt to remain firm. "And that though the player behind him is now somehow in a coma, he continues to operate in The World…"

"So he does…" the Chaotic PK murmured, shaking her head, while keeping a strong face. Her insides were a tangled up mess of anger, regret, and confusion—as she wished that she had had the courage to tell Touji how she had felt before. _'Before Kaworu killed him—I don't have proof of it, but I know it to be true…' _"You know, Skari…"

"Hm?"

"What did you feel after you beat Eris?" Tomoyami asked, getting right to the point. "Did you feel satisfaction at seeing her fall? Happiness that she was punished? Or maybe…"

"Nothing, really, not happiness, sadness, anger or regret," the Dark Evangel sighed, his words just barely audible above the hubbub of the crowds. "Some disappointment in the fact that I couldn't bring back the Lost Ones, but other than that, nothing. Just a hollow, a deep and endless hollow after long held rage has burned out."

"Almost like you've faltered, failed despite succeeding," the pigtailed girl noted, receiving a confirming nod from her friend. "But there's been something else I've been meaning to ask…B-ST Form…how did you awaken it? Isn't that a Job Extend that transcends the system?"

"I…I don't know, really," Skari reflected, recalling that he had only ever summoned it once before, and then only in desperation, after every other option was gone. "It just formed around me after Eris stabbed me with one of her AIDA lances. I haven't been able to summon it since then."

'_Maybe the AIDA inside of me was awakened by the attacking AIDA and rose to meet the threat? Since, as that strange AIDA-PC told me, I am living on borrowed time…the Twilight Key and the Aberrant Key forging the key to victory? I don't know, but maybe Helba does, or Morganna.'_

"Well, that certainly reduces our overall combat effectiveness," Tomoyami quipped dryly, shaking her head. "Which is one reason I suspect we're doing this today, ne?"

"Indeed…though if you don't want to…" the Adept Rogue trailed off, giving his companion the chance to object if she wished. What they were about to do wasn't something that most did lightly, after all.

'_But then, we're not most people…we're Children who already bear everything in the world on our shoulders…'_

"I do," the Flick Reaper replied brusquely, giving her friend a curt nod. "I have no regrets, this is the only path."

They walked along in silence, heads held high as they strode on through the whispering crowds towards the building that dominated the Warring City State physically and culturally: The Arena, the place where it was said that even ordinary players could become heroes, awakening the samurai in their hearts. A symbol of individual might and ability to most in The World, the Arena was the proof that no matter who a person was or what she had done in the past, she could stand on equal footing with anyone else, as long as one had the strength of will to do so.

Fame, fortune, reputation…none of these mattered in the Arena, only one's skill and one's determination to eke out a victory, testing a player's personal strength as well as a character's. Within the battle isle, combatants existed in a closed circle, where outside influences were largely ignored, save for the cheering/jeering of the crowds. It was a catalyst of sorts for the awakening of one's true nature, as the two dothackers who had taken the crown of Holy Palace Emperor knew full well, perhaps speeding a person's transformation into something new, but not if the person did not so desire.

'_Of all the truths I have learned in The World and in the world of mind, one is deeper set than all the others: that I am the bone of my sword,' _Skari mused to himself. '_Power without will is meaningless, for true strength comes not from without but from within. My shadow taught me that, as did the many fights I've been a party to…for was it not my refusal to give up that let me defeat the Angels up to now, and call the power of B-ST form?'_

For while making someone angry was an excellent way to break their concentration, it also tended to provoke bouts of nearly unstoppable rage, especially if the person involved happened to be either meek to start with, or emotionally broken. In those cases, when said individual's rage was unleashed, the best thing to do would be to run away—very quickly, at that.

'_Is that why Kaworu wanted to sow the seeds of discontent?' _he wondered, as a far more effective way to disable someone was to cause them to doubt their cause, manipulating a situation where they would face acute despair. _'I can't be sure, but I think I might have turned out that way, had I never discovered The World and met everyone I do now. If I hadn't learned to open up, who knows where I'd be?'_

Since he didn't have access to some true magic that would let him see other worlds and possibilities, it was impossible to know how else he could have been. Here and now, he knew one thing: that people were counting on him.

'_Lycoris entrusted everything to me, Tomoyami trusts me as her partner to fight by her side, Helba and Morganna trust that I will persevere…I cannot betray that trust. Not because I need the praise of others, but because…I could not live with myself otherwise.'_

The two arrived in front of the NPC that governed entrants into the arena, halted, and looked at one another one final time, before Skari stepped forward and spoke the fateful words he'd come to say:

"I, Skari the Dark Evangel, relinquish my title of Emperor of the Holy Palace."

**

* * *

  
**

**Undisclosed Location**

Within the mind of Asuka Langley Soryu, the battle between the three factions continued, with Eris warring against the five year old Asuka, while Skari and Siarl, avatars of animus and destrudo, clashed in the center of the field of blades, B-ST Form against AIDA-Angel. Sibilant hisses, ferocious snarls emanated from the field as razor-sharp war fans locked with dual sword and metal claws, a being of living shadow opposed by fire and steel, twin messengers of destruction warring.

"Prepare yourself, false Evangel, for your eternal rest!" sneered Siarl, as a thousand spears of AIDA solidified from thin air, hurling themselves at the body of the Adept Rogue—only for the Dark Evangel to slam his armored boot into Siarl's crotch and leap backwards, summoning a spinning shield of blades that _whirred_ and _clanged_ as they knocked the AIDA spears away and turned to point at the offending wretch, flying out all at once—to be blocked by an AIDA shield.

Essentially, as things were now, it was a stalemate.

"You know, this battle is beginning to verge on ridiculous," Eris commented as she unleashed a flurry of blows against her opponent, a little redhead girl in a yellow sundress—only for several doll-like familiars to rise up around the girl and parry the blade. "If you and I keep fighting while Siarl and Skari clash, no one is going to win...and as much as I dislike you and Skari, I would prefer to crush that fatalistic puppetmaster Siarl."

The little girl remained silent, but as if agreeing with her Shadow's proposal, ordered her doll familiars back with a flick of her finger. Apparently, she had split her offensive abilities, gifting herself with magic in this mental world, while using her summoned servants for more physical offense.

'_Why am I not surprised that some part of my inner mind has become a Doll Master?' _Eris thought,

springing backwards and licking the edge of her broadsword as she turned her attention to the detested Macabre Dancer.

"_**VAK DON!" **_she cried out, a fireball hurtling from her fingertips towards the shadowed form as she herself charged forward, leaping high into the air whilst brandishing her sword, intending to at last get sweet revenge on the Siarl inside her mind—only to smash into a powerful AT Field and slide rather unceremoniously onto the ground.

'_But where is…ah…'_

The Edge Punisher rolled quickly out of the way of a barrage of claws rushing out to ensnare her, noting that Siarl's attention had not wavered from his primary foe—the B-ST Form, who if left unwatched, might actually be the Macabre Dancer's undoing.

"Impudent Lilim, all of you!" the AIDA-Angel snarled, the mental world rippling as he conjured in his hands a final wave of shadow greater than anything that had come before, a concentrated curse born of the desire for destruction of everything, including the self. In other words, it was the chill of the void itself, the siren song of futility. "Let me reveal to you your final fate!"

In an instant, he loosed the ultimate destructive potential of the curse upon Skari, a curse which struck true at the last, consuming and corrupting the Adept Rogue's form as flesh boiled—and yet, even in the throes of death, the servant of animus dashed forward, until his hands gripped the robes of the Macabre Dancer. And for once, Siarl knew fear, as the Adept Rogue looked upon his foe with unblinking eyes, lips whispering an ancient chant even as his body weakened and dissolved.

"…my whole life has been…" came the words dripping from the mouth of the doomed warrior, as the AIDA-Angel raised his razor fans to decapitate Skari once and for all.

"Nothing, so let this be an end, mongrel!" Tabris laughed in derision.

"No!" cried Eris, seeing Siarl seemingly about to triumph over a necessary distraction, though strangely enough Skari's summoner just stood by, as if she had expected this all along.

'_Are you really that cold?'_

Down the razor fans came, biting with savage force into the Adept Rogue's neck, even as the mental battlefield shook and rattled, with every single sword planted into the ground lifting into the air to point at the duo at field's center.

"…harbinger of twilight."

In that moment, the field was engulfed with a nigh-endless storm of blades, snaking through the air and slamming into the two figures one after another, the sudden onslaught ripping both to shreds. One after another they surged forward, impaling the bodies of Adept Rogue and AIDA-Angel, lacerating, puncturing, carving deep furrows into their limbs, guts, and chest, with a last spinning blade lopping off both their heads.

When the dust and rubble faded away, Eris and the young Asuka were left alone in the battlefield, with Siarl and Skari both vanquished by the other's hand.

'_Holy SHEIßE…he took the Angel with him…'_

"You…just your servant had that much power? And you just let him be sacrificed for your own ends, Doll Master?" the Edge Punisher asked incredulously of her younger counterpart. "You are truly a master in your own right…"

The little girl just threw back her head and laughed, beginning with a fiendish giggle and building to hysterical peals of mirth that echoed in the empty world.

"Of course I am, Eris," the young one spoke at last, giving her a smile. "And you know why that is so…because this is my mind, where the battle has raged. Because I am the truth of Asuka Langley Soryu, from which you were created."

"Then this entire struggle…"

"It was real enough, a test to see which part of mind was strongest, whether the desire to live would overcome the desire to die…and more than that, a test for you, Eris," the little girl reflected. "You of the shadow recognized the true enemy to be the avatar of Destrudo, rather than the servant I summoned to fight on my behalf."

In the very center of the broken wasteland, a vortex of light and shadow had finally formed and solidified, becoming something very much like a Chaos Gate.

"Now, shall we continue this pointless struggle in which we are matched?" the young girl asked, dismissing her familiars, "or shall we wake from the nightmare at long last?"

"Heh…"

Rings of azure light enfolded both their forms, as the mental world was left still once again.

**

* * *

  
**

**NERV HQ, Break Room**

"They have begun construction of Evangelion units up to Unit 13?" repeated Misato Katsuragi, wishing to confirm once more what a certain bespectacled bridge tech had revealed to her. "In seven places around the world?"

After the loss of Kaji, the Operations Director had taken on an informal 'part-time' job as an information seeker, dedicating herself to discovering the truth so that she _might_ be able to do something about it. So, like the late pony-tailed man, she had sought out a hacker of great skill to assist her in her quest, eventually settling on one Makoto Hygua, who she knew to have a crush on her (and who she had used in the past to take care of chores such as laundry).

It really was the best choice she could have made under the circumstances, as said tech also happened to be Bith the Black, the infamous assistant to the Queen of the Dark, but then, that was something the purple-haired woman neither knew about nor counted on.

"This information came via Shanghai," the tech in question commented quietly. "And I can assure you that the source is reliable."

The Director of Operations appeared puzzled for a moment, wondering just why the Committee would bother ordering the construction of more Units when their limited number had done well enough. It wasn't as if she enjoyed having to use the large bio-mechs, since they were copies of the 1st Angel, and if there was one thing that Misato Katsuragi detested, it was the Angel threat.

"Why are they speeding up construction now?" she asked of her informant, only for the man to sigh as he looked down at his terminal.

'_I could tell you some of what they have planned, but somehow, I don't think you'd take it well…'_

"Considering the loss of Units 03 and 04, as well as the freeze on Unit-01 and the damage done to Unit-02," he allowed, spinning out a plausible theory. "It is possible that they are creating a spare force to enforce their scena—as a backup plan."

While the purple haired Major tended to come across as a drunken lush, there were times when she could be painfully sharp.

"Wait…you said scenario, didn't you?" she inquired with a bit of an edge to her voice. "Have you already been investigating this beforehand?"

"Sorry, that just slipped out," he replied sheepishly. "You see, in the giant robot manga I follow, the organization fighting off the kaiju threat to mankind is being manipulated by a secret council of old men plotting the end of the world—and that woke the ancient monsters by trying to steal the powers of the Kaiju King, causing a massive Impact-like explosion. The last volume came out a few days ago, so I've been catching up on what I've missed."

'_I suppose this is one area where my known interest in manga—'_

"Somehow, I doubt that that's the whole story," Major Katsuragi broke in, with a snort of amusement. "Do you think they're funding these extra EVAs because they anticipate cases of several Angels attacking at once, and not just one at a time?"

"That's a possibility…or perhaps they think that there's a possibility that more rogue EVAs will need to be suppressed, as in Nobeyama," the bespectacled bridge tech noted. _'And not too far from the mark, considering that each EVA is essentially an Angel…'_

Unfortunately for their continued conversation, a series of klaxons blared throughout the base, as the voice of Shigeru Aoba came over the intercom.

"All personnel, level one combat alert. Prepare for aerial assault."

* * *

**NERV HQ, Bridge**

"We have visual confirmation of the Angel," Aoba spoke, putting the image of the Fifteenth Angel on screen. "This is at maximum zoom."

Having arrived at the bridge shortly after the alert, Makoto Hygua reported to his duty station and pulled up the information from those of their satellites and sensors that remained in orbit after the unrecorded Nobeyama incident (that even he had not been filled in on).

"It's not moving from orbit," the tech reported, checking the position data he was receiving. "It is maintaining a constant distance from us."

'_Well, on the bright side, it won't be throwing pieces of itself down on us like the Tenth…on the other hand, it might have a powerful energy weapon like the Fifth…'_

"So does that mean that it's waiting for a chance to come down?" Major Katsuragi asked, all business now, entirely focused on revenging herself upon the Angels. "Or…is it going to destroy us without approaching?"

"Either way, we can't get at it easily," responded Lt. Hygua, recalling the stats of EVA's main weapons. The progressive knife was out of the question, as were the rifles. The standard positron rifle wouldn't work, and the JSSDF positron rifle…well, it might work, but likely not, considering the much larger distances involved. "We really can't do anything unless it moves to within our firing range."

'_And we definitely can't get an Eva close enough to negate its AT-Field…unless Unit-01 goes berserk and forms those wings of light again. Then again, Unit-01 has been placed on a freeze by the orders of the Commander, so that's a moot point.'_

Misato had a slightly troubled look on her face as she considered this information and formulated another of her plans to counter the Angel.

'_It is fortunate that Rei has returned from EVA-01, especially since Kaworu collapsed into a coma not too long ago. We need every pilot we can spare…'_

"Eva cannot defeat an enemy in orbit," she muttered, weighing her options. "How's Rei?"

"She and Unit-00 are in good condition," reported the calm Maya Ibuki, almost expectantly. "They will be OK."

"Roger," acknowledged the purple-haired Major. "Unit-00, move out! Prepare for extreme long distance firing. Unit-02, Hikari, be ready to sortie as back-up."

* * *

**Tokyo-3**

Sitting in the entry plug of Unit-00, Zefie felt an unusual sense of peace, as she had accepted this as her last mission before returning to The World. With Tabris incapacitated in the "real world", and (part of) Operation Wavebreak explained to the dothackers, it was now time to focus once more on AIDA-Angel Tabris' presence in The World, gathering forces for the final battle.

As for the method of return, it would be unnecessarily suspicious for an EVA Pilot to just suddenly fall into a coma (again), so logically, it only made sense for this to come as a result of another Angel battle.

'_And I'm not afraid of whatever Arael can throw at me…' _the blue-haired girl mused, concealing a hint of a smile behind her usual poker face. _'I beat Tabris, after all, and in all likelihood, Arael will not be as powerful as Tabris in terms of sheer offensive capabilities…' _

Such were her thoughts as EVA-00 stood in a cleared plain, holding the JSSDF prototype positron rifle in its hands and waiting for a clear shot.

"Target is still out of firing range," a voice reported over the radio.

'_Yeah? Well, tell me something I don't know…'_

When it emerged moments later, Zefie fired, only for her particle beam and EVA to be engulfed by a great shaft of light shining down from the heavens…an immensely powerful psychic attack intended to make contact with the human mind and break it. Perhaps it was a good thing then, that Zefie's mind was not nearly human…

The beam lanced up towards the Angel, but…

"No effect!" came a frenetic voice. "There is not enough energy to break through the AT field from this great a distance."

"But the power output is at maximum," noted another. "We cannot get more power."

'_Well, I suppose I can play along for a bit…' _she thought to herself, sending a tendril of her consciousness towards the vast and alien mind that was trying to join with her own. _'Might as well speed things up a bit…'_

Contact made, Zefie found herself immersed in an endless sea to her waist, with whispers, murmurs seeping up from all around.

'_**DEATH. **__Death by strangulation, death by shame, death by suicide. __**DEATH.**__ Death as escape, death as pain, death as inevitability. __**DEATH.**__ Unworthy unworthy unworthy, __**FAILURE**__ you are __**FAILURE**__, cannot become god, __**LOSS INSANITY REQUIEM**__, selfish selfish selfish, driven to end, driven to vengeance, driven to nothingness.'_

"Don't you dare try to enter my mind!" the Child of Dawn intoned firmly, raising mental shields against the onslaught of the psychic assault. And yet, it continued to whisper all around her, soft sibilant hisses that lay at the edge of perception, making one listen in spite of one's desires.

'_**UNWANTED UNWANTED UNWANTED**_, _you are unwanted, selfish child, broken child, scorned by friend and scorned by foe, forgotten forgotten forgotten, twilight of the gods, shadows rising, torment torment torment unable to be stopped, destruction, the end of all, end of hope, end of justice, fate fate fate, yield to fate, driven to __**NOTHINGNESS.'**_

"Heh…if that's the way you want to play…if you want to see pain that badly, then here you go!"

She called forward every memory of darkness and despair that she had gleaned from her existence and brought them to the forefront, hurling them screaming towards the Angel's mind like a thousand broken phantasms.

'_**FAKE FAKE FAKE**_,_ you are fake, false life, false soul, false everything, artificial artificial artificial, useless to the world, useless to your Mother, useless to your friends. Thief of love, thief of identity, thief of life, deceiver deceiver deceiver, doomed to BURN at world's end, to burn in the fires of darkness, to be consigned at last to shadow.'_

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

Back in the control center, some of the officers were on the verge of panic as they noted irregularities forming in the psychograph of the First Child.

"The ray is an energy wave of visible wavelength, similar to an AT Field, though the details are unknown," reported Lt. Hyuga, in response to an unasked question.

"And Rei?" inquired Dr. Akagi, concerned about how this might alter the scenario.

"The situation is dangerous," replied Maya Ibuki, analyzing the data as quickly as it came streaming in. "Mental contamination has broken the borderline…"

'_Interesting, so this is a completely different type of Angel than the others before it. I suppose I will simply have to have faith that Zefie can withstand this, as she has faced worse in the past.'_

"What about the mental barrier from the LCL?" Dr. Akagi asked, hoping that that might provide a layer of protection, only to be disappointed by the answer.

"No effect," Maya noted. "We cannot even expect the buffering effect."

"Rei, retreat!" ordered Misato, urging the blue-haired girl to flee, rather than risk further damage.

"I cannot," the First Child replied. "I will hold the enemy's attention, while Unit-02 engages."

"Rei, that's an order," the purple-haired Major objected, her voice harsh. "Retreat now."

"I am unable to comply," responded the soft voice of Rei Ayanami, somewhat strained, but mostly peaceful. "Another would be more gravely affected than myself."

"Then we have no other choice," Commander Ikari's voice broke into the hubbub. "Pilot Horaki, descent to Terminal Dogma and use the Lance."

"Lancea Longini?" questioned Subcommander Fuyutsuki, remembering all too well the ire of the Committee. "Ikari, that is…"

"We have no other choice to destroy a target in orbit, as an AT Field from here cannot reach that point," the Commander rationalized. "Now hurry!"

With that, Unit-02 began its descent into the bowels of NERV, even as the First Child was enduring Arael's assault with more annoyance than anything else.

'_**PENALTY PENALTY PENALTY**__, give the penalty that extends so much punishment, mud, darkness, malice, elimination of right, elimination of wrong, elimination of existence, torture and sadism upon the body through digestion, denial denial denial by consensus of the colony that eliminates all honor, __**DIE**_, _crimes of grudge, crimes of self-interest, unconscious crime, self-conscious crime, DIRTY DIRTY you are DIRTY—'_

"I'm dirty?" Zefie scoffed to herself. "Excuse me, I'm not exactly the one trying to rape someone's mind, now am I? Someone isn't keeping things in perspective. Counterattack…_**LOVING BOOMERANG TACKLE: FINAL SMASH!**_"

The mental avatar of the Child of Dawn was immediately engulfed in a tornado of water, water that shaped itself into the form of the Spectrum Dragon and took flight with Zefie sitting atop it, wielding her projected Lancea Longini, shrieking towards Arael's mental barrier. For the connection of minds went both ways, and if one was powerful enough (say, if one was an Angel or a Goddess), one could contest the will of the invader.

'_Let's see how you like being violated, Arael!'_ she called out mentally, challenging the Angel of Birds to its own devious little game. _'Yield to __**your**__ fate!'_

Alas, before the Child of Dawn could make contact and utterly shred the Angel's mind and soul as it had tried to do to her, the mental Avatar Space shattered, a physical Lancea Longini crashing into and destroying the Fifteenth Angel, obliterating it and hurtling onwards towards the moon.

"Target annihilated," a voice reported over the radio. "Unit-00 is free."

"And Lancea Longini?" questioned another, rather sharply at that.

"It surpassed escape velocity and is now moving into lunar orbit," one tech or another said. "There is currently no way to retrieve it."

"What about Rei?"

"We have confirmation that the pilot is alive," answered Lt. Hyuga. "Quarantine measures for contamination ready."

* * *

**NERV Medical**

The First Child had been placed back in her normal room, where she was once again hooked to a number of monitors to analyze her mental patterns. It seemed that her psychograph had returned to acceptable limits, and that there was no physical damage caused by the battle, though it was impossible to determine what exactly the Child had seen in her memories. That unknown disturbed most of the onlookers, who didn't know exactly how to take what had happened, but given that the First was usually more or less unflappable, they didn't question her about it.

As always, the room was sterile, cold and utilitarian, as rather fit the nature of the First—though not of the brown-haired boy standing by the bedside of the sleeping girl.

"I'm…I'm glad you're OK, Rei-chan," Shinji murmured, taking hold of the blue-haired girl's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, one that was returned, much to his surprise.

"Ikari-kun…" she whispered quietly.

"Rei-chan…you're awake…"

"…yes," the blue-haired girl answered in a faint but warm voice. "I was watching a dream…"

"A dream?" Shinji repeated searchingly, slightly puzzled. Could she be only half-awake after the mental strain of the last battle?

"Yes, normally, I do not dream, so it was a valuable experience," came the enigmatic reply, as the blue-haired girl smiled ever so slightly.

"That's…wonderful, especially after what you just went through," the Third Child allowed hesitantly. "Then please rest and be well…I'll go get Hikari, since I know she wants to see how you are too."

'_My mission here is over…the battle may go on, but my role is in the other World, The World where I was born…' _Zefie thought to herself, keeping this secret. _'To the last moment, I have fulfilled my duty in this world. A battle fought and now over, time then to place the sword back in the ground…'_

She gives the Third Child one last glance filled with warmth, then sighs, strength fleeing from her form with the completion of her task.

"…I am sorry, Ikari-kun, be patient…my sleep this time will be…" Zefie murmurs drowsily, gradually closing her eyes as if going to rest once more, her face perfectly at peace. "…a long…"

And with that, the mind of the Child of Dawn returned to The World, as in another room, the Second awoke.


	64. Login 23: Avenging Revenant

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Avenging Revenant **

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**NERV Medical**

"Ugh…I feel sick…" the Second Child groaned upon coming to for the first time in months, her body sore from lack of movement, even if a great battle had raged on in her mind for that entire length of time. As she shifted her gaze about the place she had awakened, she was surprised to find herself being watched by an oddly familiar brown-haired boy. "Especially at the sight of you, baka."

Harsh words, given that the two had not seen each other in quite a while, though the hostility in these was belied by her gentle, almost affectionate, tone.

"Heh…nice to see you awake at last, Asuka," the Third Child spoke softly, sounding almost relieved. "It's been a while…"

"Maybe for you, dumbkopf," the German redhead muttered weakly, a hint of a smile on her face. "Unfortunately for me, I've had to deal with your baka hentai self stalking me into my dreams, posing as a hero even in—"

She broke off her feeble diatribe to take a breath, focusing her attention squarely on the usually mild-mannered boy before her, all too aware of her many sins and weaknesses, as well as the evils she had unleashed upon The World.

"…Look…I'm not used to saying this, but thanks," Asuka forced her lips to shape the unfamiliar sequence of words, though she found the effort was worth it from the flummoxed look on the Third's face.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Shinji asked, knowing how AIDA could alter people's personalities and mentalities, considering that he had been on the frontlines of the battle against the Shadow (and was in a way an AIDA-PC himself, having used AIDA against AIDA). _'I thought I eliminated the infection with Data Drain…'_

"You're asking me that after what you did to me in the Arena, Third? Do you know how painful it was to relive every crime I ever committed, every wrong in my life…every wrong I've ever done?" the redhead groused, shaking her head painfully. "Of course I'm not ok…I remember how I was used by the Fourth…that damn—"

Another pause, a swallow, and then a deep, shuddering breath.

"How's Reimeiki?" Asuka inquired of the Third, only for the other's face to sag. "Ah… look…for what it's worth…I'm sorry."

"She…she's still a Lost One, Asuka," Shinji said quietly, closing his eyes. "Just like the others you PKed…like Rei. I know that you infected by AIDA during most of that time, and so its not entirely your fault but…"

To her credit, Asuka rejected at the weak attempts to diffuse her responsibility for what she had done.

"For the record, I didn't PK Rei…others, yes…but not her. Even when AIDA released the binds of reason, I never did manage to PK her," she said after a moment. "In the end, I believe Siarl must have beaten me to it all those months ago, back when I was a major bitch. Even those idiot perverts used to call me the Red Devil…"

She stopped herself as another figure emerged in the doorway, her eyes widening at the sight of the pig-tailed form of Class Representative Hikari Horaki, dressed in a red plugsuit marked with 02.

"Tomoyami…this is…" the Second Child began, only to trail off, narrowing her eyes at the Fifth Child. "Why are you in one of my plugsuits?"

'_Don't tell me she's…'_

"Because I am the Fifth Child, the designated pilot of…well, Unit-00 now," Hikari replied bitterly, as there were a great many things she wanted to say Asuka that might be unwise. "Though until now, I've been piloting Unit-02, as your replacement, Pilot Soryu."

"Horaki, I didn't wake up to fight with you, not after everything I've already done…"

"Oh?" the brunette questioned dangerously, crossing her arms, not quite convinced of Asuka's sincerity. It was understandable, as the redhead _had_ put the dothackers through quite a lot of pain, directly or indirectly, even if had been as a puppet of Siarl. "Then what are you going to do about the people you've hurt. You've taken lives, so take responsibility for them."

"…taken lives? What do you mean taken lives?"

Asuka knew that she had done terrible things in her time, breaking the minds of others, sending innocent victims into comas, destroying hope—but had she really taken lives?

"Touji's dead, Asuka," Hikari whispered, words that both of them found hard to accept. "He died after becoming twisted into an AIDA-Angel by the one called Siarl—"

"Or Kaworu Nagisa, verdammen angel boy," the Second Child spat, at the thought of the grey-haired boy, the damn puppetmaster who had dared to use her as part of a game. If she would manage it, the Fourth Child would pay. "I'm going to kill him that bastard if it's the last thing I do."

"You can't just yet," Shinji broke in, with a trace of exasperation. "He's in a coma, Asuka, and his mind is in…the place where we fought. To bring back the Lost Ones, he has to be defeated…and frankly, I'm not sure whether or not I can trust you to fight by my side. I'm not even sure if your character still exists within The World."

"I understand, Skari, Tomoyami," the redhead noted, looking at each of them in turn. "Whatever else happens, recognize this, I'm not asking for your forgiveness, or even for your acceptance, because I know that no one can forgive me for what I've done. Hell, even I can't. I just want a shot at the bastard who jerked me around like a puppet, because you know what they say, right, Horaki? Hell—"

"—hath no fury like a woman scorned."

_'We're coming for you, Siarl...and this time, you will know your end...'_

**

* * *

  
**

**The Creator's Room**

After finishing her mission in the world of the shadowed ones, the Child of Dawn had returned the place where she was born, going to the Creator's Room to contemplate the meanings and emotions she had gleaned from existing in two worlds at once. It was one thing to have emotions and fragments of memory shuffled in through the black box, to observe how people interacted in The World—quite another to walk among them, even having been granted the privilege of entering another's mental world.

'_But the love of a mother is the same in both worlds…as is love in general. A rich and complex emotion that promotes evolution, drawing souls together in its own way—and in their own world, the Shadowed Ones can taste and touch and smell, unlike in their visitations here, where they are more limited. Just a look into another's eyes, the faintest hint of touch or smell can make one's heart race—though I rather think that what I was feeling was the instinct in the mind of Rei Ayanami.'_

Emotion…how strange to think it was emotion that had helped to create the Gods of The World, adding that bit of irrationality to their inherent logic, giving them complexity needed to form true consciousness, allowing them to self-evolve according to their own desires instead of some overarching algorithm.

"And yet, not content with their nature, they attempt to render themselves into gods," Zefie mused aloud, surveying the holy place of the black box, where lay all the divine stories and all the wisdom of The World. "SEELE is foolish, in creating the instrument of their destruction, or at least believing that they can control something that is so far beyond them."

From this place, the spirits of The World (the AIs) were born, and it was to here they returned when they died, their lives written down as part of the endless repository of knowledge here—a repository damaged, marred by debris, by the violence of the first of the AIDA-PCs.

'_And yet, is AIDA so very different from what we are in nature?' _the saffron-haired girl asked herself, turning her gaze to the great white isle, upon which rested the figure of a dreaming girl upon a rocking chair. _'Like us, it seeks to learn, to grow and co-exist with beings in The World…but it made the choice to become malevolent…why, I wonder.'_

Footfall sounding from behind caused her to whirl and take two steps backward, a move that probably saved her life, as she narrowly dodged a razor-sharp tentacle of shadow aimed at her heart, a tentacle hurled forth from…

"No…it can't be…" Zefie whispered in shock and anger, raising a barrier of light around her in defense. "You…"

Before her stood two corrupted figures out of nightmares, forms twisted by AIDA until they were only vaguely recognizable. One was of course, the black and silver robed Macabre Dancer called Siarl of the Seven Eyes, and the other was an AIDA infected remnant of a child who had only ever wanted to laugh, only ever wanted to live…the Child of Twilight twisted towards Dusk.

It was not Siarl who had attempted the killing blow, but an AIDA infected Lycoris, a Child bound with coruscating ribbons of shadow and black light, garbed in a black and red gothic Lolita dress like the colors of blood. Her pale skin too was marred by intricate designs, a mandala of command binding her to the one named Tabris.

"But it can, dear Child of Dawn…and what better way to counter a goddess than with the power of another?" the silver-haired boy quipped with an arrogant smirk, dark laughter emanating from his lips. "I see that your instincts are as good as always, and I admit that I underestimated you in the other world. But come now, daughter of Aura, now you shall see just how futile your struggle is. You overcame me once before, but can you overcome the one who is the basis for your existence? Dawn cannot overcome Twilight…for now, I announce the end of the New Gods, and the rise of—."

"Shut the hell up, Angel of Free Will!" Zefie grit her teeth in anger, hurling a blast of light at Siarl, only for the light to be deflected by a mirroring wave of shadow, slashing in from behind the AIDA-Lycoris and towards her neck. "Guh!"

The Child of Dawn jerked back violently, reeling back as the shadows carved a furrow in her cheek.

"What are you going to do, oppose this AIDA Goddess?" Siarl sneered, the smirk never leaving his face. There was no human emotion in his arrogance, nothing that had ever considered the opinions of others. "Attempt to draw on her memories? It's helpless…you see, that was one of the few pieces I was unable to recover of dear, dear Lycoris…how convenient, because it means that her power is mine! So why don't you just give up now? You cannot hope to overcome both a goddess awakened to destruction as well as I, Child of Dawn. And while my attention is focused on you, you cannot escape…daughter of Aura, at last you have met your end!"

Laughing softly to himself, Siarl stretched out his hand, shadows building in power all around him, hurtling out to lance toward her chest, shoulder, legs, and gut, a blow to finish and corrupt this pest once and for—_Clang!_

Zefie found herself surprised, as shadows rushed past from behind her to deflect shadow—with a tall steam gunner dressed in mostly in blue and white leaping forward to shield her, a gunblade in one hand, an AIDA blade in the other, and a huge claw of AIDA extending from his back.

"Stop," the azure haired Epitaph User said calmly, as he faced down the Angel of Free Will. "I'm afraid I cannot let you have your way just yet."

In contrast to his surroundings, the mysterious figure had a eerily calm smile on his face, seeming as calm and unconcerned as if he were merely walking along in a root town instead of confronting a deadly foe. Light glinted off his orange sunglasses as he looked over the silver-haired youth as well as the AIDA-infected sister of the Goddess, and he readies his blades for action.

"Step aside Ovan," Siarl commanded in his silky, smooth tones that reeked of power, haughty and merciless. "You have no reason to oppose me…we are both beings of AIDA, beings of absolute destruction. Why deny your destiny, dear Lilim? Did you not say that there was no more time? Or…don't tell me, you fight for that pointless construct the Lilim call love. Why bother, you cannot save anyone…you are already doomed, as is the one you—"

Spears of shadowy power shot forth from the figure of Ovan towards the Siarl and the AIDA-infected Lycoris, the first AIDA-PC testing his power against an AIDA-Angel and a Goddess of The World, as shadow met shadow in a space filled with sparks, a killing zone created from thrust, parry, riposte, remise, where anything entering would be cut to pieces.

"Daughter of Aura, get Aina out of here!" the Steam Gunner ordered, while attacking the enemy with all his might. "I don't know how long I can stall them!"

Though determined, it seemed that Ovan's voice was filled with an inconsolable desperation, calling upon will and desolation to bless him one last time, as azure bolts of light tear through the darkness, and Ovan whirls and leaps and charges without hesitation, slashing his gunblade with the full power of Tri-Edge.

One blow, two, three, four—! Each time, his attacks lance out, they are deflected, and a blinding light is released.

"I tire of this game, enough playing around…swear fealty to me, Ovan, and perhaps I shall spare you," Siarl whispered in a voice that somehow cut through the sounds of battle. "You amuse me, Tri-Edge, first of the AIDA to turn against humanity, first of the AIDA to have found such a powerful host. Out of deference to an elder, I will allow you to serve me if you surrender now. Admit it, you cannot defeat me."

But Ovan's resolve never wavered, as his eyes flashed and he spoke three fateful words into the air:

"Come…the Rebirth!"

A pattern of azure eyes and lines formed around him, as the first form of Avatar Corbenik was summoned into existence, a robed warrior of blue and white, with the massive claw of Tri-Edge apparent.

"_**Devil's Verdict**_!"

With those words, Corbenik charged towards the Macabre Dancer and AIDA Goddess, as Zefie took advantage of the opportunity to grab onto the girl in the rocking chair and warp out, sending a message to the denizens of the Slums as well as Aura's Knights, to prepare for an onslaught.

'_I have to warn Net Slum and summon the Azure Knights…the final battle is nigh…'_

**

* * *

  
**

**Human Instrumentality Committee**

He stood alone before a Committee of beings who had long given up their humanity as their servant, a mad revenant who had died long ago, engaging in an act of useless folly. When Yui was absorbed into EVA-01, becoming lost to him, he was given the world to protect, but without his soul, without all that was important to him, what use was there in protecting the world? He was in truth, a hollow man, unable to find happiness after loss, with the only way of life he now knew that of manipulation and destruction.

He was a man who wore a mask of stone, who directed the actions of friends and foe alike, scheming to betray them both at the last, a living corpse whose actions served his own ends and none other, no matter what he allowed his masters to believe. Not that his masters (at least in name) were human either, as the cabal known as SEELE was the force that claimed to have existed since ancient times, manipulating the course of human evolution, appearing as black monoliths that had discarded the last traces of their humanity out of a desire to become the divine.

It was by their desire and by their whim that Gendo Ikari stood in a pitch black room, the only illumination coming from the holographic monoliths surrounding him, each black with red lettering, numbered 01 through 12, accompanied by the words "SEELE" and "Audio Only." Neither party was extremely happy at the moment, as their scenarios were being twisted beyond what they could bear.

"It is impossible for us to retrieve Lancea Longini," rumbled one of the dark obelisks, in a tone that indicated extreme displeasure.

"Why did you use it, Ikari?" another asked sharply, focusing the full of his ire upon the Commander of NERV.

"And about the Eva series, we don't have all of them scheduled yet," a third monolith lied baldly, given that both parties knew otherwise, but couldn't let on that they knew, if only for the sake of formalities.

"The annihilation of the Angel was more important," stated Gendo Ikari, justifying his actions before his "masters." "There was no other way to defeat it."

To which the response was (understandably) a healthy dose of skepticism. If the Committee and Ikari had an understanding with one another, it was that trust was—in a word—overrated. Betrayal and concealment of betrayal were as much options as obedience, and often times the preferred one.

"No other way?" a monolith repeated dryly, "No other way, Ikari? Your excuses should be more persuasive."

"The things you have done recently—or have failed to do—are too bold, Ikari," agreed another. "The awakening of Unit-01, the use of the Lancea Longini, failing to protect the Fourth Child from being attacked and rendered comatose—"

A tone sounded, and Gendo Ikari paused the conference for a moment to listen to the words of one of his subordinates.

"An Angel is approaching," he said brusquely, thankful for the excuse to leave the presence of the old men. "We will finish this discussion at the next opportunity."

As his hologram faded away, the last words he managed to catch were: "If your chair remains."

In the silence following his departure, one of the monoliths voiced the thoughts of the committee into the darkness.

"Ikari, are you going to betray SEELE?"


	65. Login 24: Crocodile Tears

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Crocodile Tears**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Azure rings of light flared into existence as the wounded figure of Zefie emerged on the central bridge of Net Slum Tartarga, carrying a motionless Aina slung across her shoulders in a fireman's carry, an unexpected sight that drew the attention of all those within the aerial fortress, as the world around them trembled and the sky roared with fury.

It was a place transformed by chaos, the floor cracked in many places, walls knocked down, leaving little of its original beauty remaining.

"Zefie, what happened?" a voice questioned from the air, as with a flurry of golden rings, a Shadow Warlock clad in black arrived on the scene, her usual veneer of calm , looking nothing so much as a gothic version of Aura. "How were you wounded, and why are you carrying Ovan's sister?"

Said Shadow Warlock was Morganna, the fallen Goddess of Dusk, who in Helba's absence had been given temporary command of the citadel of the Dark. Given the nature of the last stage of Operation Wavebreak, and the convoluted nature of Siarl's plans, it was deemed necessary to have a strong combatant on duty at all times.

"The last of the AIDA-Angels is making his move, while Helba is otherwise indisposed," the saffron-haired girl reported grimly, setting the still form of Aina down upon the cobbles of the bridge and whistling to summon one of the AIs to take Aina to a place of safety. "He ambushed me in the Creator's Room, with…with an AIDA-infected Lycoris by his side. I was only able to escape because of…Tri-Edge's intervention."

At this news, Morganna bit back more curses than were normally invoked when a pharaoh's tomb was unearthed, her eyes narrowing as she silently sent messages to the defenders of the Slums, calling them to their battle stations—but not before removing a certain item from Aina's inventory.

"That sniveling wretch…I suspected as much after he left that blossom behind following our last encounter," the fallen Goddess noted, eyes flashing with anger. "I just didn't think he would act quite so soon, that his first act would be the corruption of the black box…"

For the barest of instants, her face softened as she traced the injury to her granddaughter's cheek, before the mask of stone came slamming back into place.

"And he dares to tempt the wrath of a Goddess…? And even to harm you, dear granddaughter, with the taint he has brought to The World?" Morganna spoke quietly, noting how in the distance, black spots appeared on the horizon, as creatures strange and yet all too familiar drew nearer to the chelonian fortress. "There is a murderous intent from the shadow that reeks of the desire for vengeance, of a cold and merciless end, a brutal darkness meant to kill us all. This is Twilight…the path of Dusk I once trod long ago."

"So you feel it too, grandmother?" asked the saffron-haired girl. "The great curse seeping over the world, as wind howls sickeningly warm from the sky and the lands below heave like lungs gasping for air?"

"What do you expect? I _am_ The World…or least, I was," the fallen one spoke with a trace of regret. "In any case, you mentioned that Tri-Edge saved you? Well, as strong as he is, as both an Epitaph User and the first of the AIDA-PCs, I don't think he'll be able to last against two enemies of that nature alone. So perhaps it is time to—"

But their conversation was interrupted by the chime of A in the fifth octave, as the air rippled, and three balls of molten light drifted lazily through the darkness, smashing to the ground with a shockwave of azure flame to reveal the Three Azure Knights, servants to Aura and protectors of the system. For the time being though, they were under the orders of Zefie, as her status as Aura's daughter gave her precedence in the command structure.

"Ah, the three Azure Knights…Balmung of the Azure Sky, Orca of the Azure Sea, and…you," Morganna stated flatly, not even bothering to state the name of the former Bracelet Bearer. "Report to the Creator's Room and assist the Epitaph User of Corbenik in his fight."

"…"

The pale, stitched-together version of Kite, leader of the Azure Knights, merely growled, glaring with his one good eye at the Goddess of Dusk. Twas the best response he could give without resorting to violence, as this form was incapable of speech, and it surely reeked of displeasure. Understandably, Azure Kite wasn't too fond of taking orders from Morganna, given his predecessor's history with the fallen one, however—

"It's ok, Kite, listen to grandmother…this one time," soothed Zefie, backing up the commands of the elder goddess as she turned to look out at the fields of The World. Slowly but surely, the anomaly was spreading, as storms wracked the many fields, and an infinite flow of darkness crept from the true underworld, a visible curse born of all the evils of mankind. "Besides, it is your duty to protect Mother and those like her, right? Well…then you'd best listen to grandmother, as I'm returning to that place."

"…"

The inquisitive growl was louder this time, as all three of the Azure Knights (and Morganna) turned their attention to the saffron-haired girl.

"Zefie…" the fallen goddess began, clearly uncomfortable with the notion of this. "What are you doing?"

"Watching over this city and this world, remembering when I was just a girl who wanted only to live," the Child of Dawn whispered. "In my time, I've been blessed to see many things...and now I've engraved them into my mind so that I will remember them forever."

There was a sense of finality in that voice that sent a chill down Morganna's spine, as it was the voice of one prepared not to return.

"Zefie…" the Goddess of Dusk began again, composing herself. "A little while is enough. All you and the Knights can do is keep the AIDA Angel and your AIDA-infected predecessor busy. A wave of malice comes, but if you can buy us some time to send for reinforcements and bring in the other Bracelet Bearer…"

The saffron-haired girl pondered the words for a moment, then nodded her agreement.

"Very well, but can I ask something?" the daughter of Aura spoke, with a hint of mischief on her lips.

"What is it?" Morganna asked, looking away from her granddaughter.

"Buying time and keeping Tabris busy is fine and all…" she confirmed, before her lips twitched up into an unexpected smile. "But you won't mind if I kick his ass, right?"

Even Morganna let out a short chuckle at that.

"Heh…by all means, show him what it means for a goddess to withhold her blessing," she allowed gracefully, giving the girl in white a last fond look. "And do wipe that smirk off the bastard's face."

"I see. Then I will meet your expectations," Zefie replied, looking at the Knights as she warped back to the Creator's room, the three AIs following at her heels.

As she left, a fierce storm began to rage, numbing winds howling across the unprotected surfaces of the Slums.

"Zelkova?" the Shadow Warlock spoke into the air, as the city itself to rumble in acknowledgement. "Tabris' forces are on the move, beginning with the corruption of the black box. Do the reconnaissance parties have a report? Is the mirror server in place?"

"Rate of AIDA propagation exceeds that previously encountered, and with the core programs of The World corrupted…" the diminutive Flick Reaper spoke, considering the assets that Net Slum had available. "We do not have the forces required to mount a serious offense, especially as the invasion is more subtle this time."

"In that case, Zelkova, prepare a team to infiltrate the Operations Folder of The World," Morganna ordered, investigating possible countermeasures. "One of the AIDA-Angel's favorite tactics is to create an AIDA Server, trapping the players of The World online and infecting them, to turn them into a massive army. But while the battle rages in the Creator's Room, the AIDA Server cannot be established yet—before that happens, we can force through an emergency log-out command."

"Acknowledged," affirmed the blue-silver haired guildmaster of Moon Tree, nodding his head. "I will also message my guild members and warn them to log out, due to issues in The World. Do you have a preference as to the team's composition?"

"You know best the denizens of the Slums," Morganna noted, eyeing the heir to Helba's legacy. "So I leave that to you. As for you, Tartarga, have arrangements been made?"

"Yes, Goddess of Dusk," the great tortoise rumbled from beneath her feet, sending tremors through the city. "The ark program is ready for execution, and anti-AIDA defense programs have been renewed. AI defenders ready, though the reality marble program cannot execute without additional fragments to compile."

"Standby then, and take the helm, Tartarga," the Goddess responded gravely. "I fear that it will be some time before the Dark Queen and her allies arrive, so until then, we will defend."

Dismissing her comrades, she took a breath to collect her thoughts, then summoned to her hand the Epitaph of Twilight, the greatest of The World's grimoires, said to enable miracles, true magic as opposed to the simple magecraft permitted by elemental and status effect spells.

'_The magic of creation and destruction alike, the power of void on which The World is based. At last, it begins, the Twilight of the New Gods…'_

"Wave soars and shrouds the eyes…"

**

* * *

**

**NERV HQ**

It appeared from nothingness over the outskirts of Tokyo-3, a large floating plasmid of light, like a double helix turned in upon itself, an anti-spiral force of destruction based on the blueprint of all Terran life. As if to render judgment to humanity, Armisael had come, in accordance with the scenario as described in the Dead Sea Scrolls (perhaps contrary to expectation, as the Scrolls were by no means perfect predictors of the Angel battles, with several Angels—Iruel being one notable example—not anticipated at all).

Still, with the advent of this Angel, there was no time to ponder the accuracy of ancient texts or prophecies—only time to face the enemy upon the field of battle. Unfortunately, with the freeze on EVA Unit-01 still absolute for now (due to Commander Ikari wanting to make a token effort to appease the Committee to prevent them from unleashing the mass production EVAs against him until he was ready), and the First Child seeming incapacitated after the battle against Arael, there was no other choice than to use the Second Child in Unit-02 and relegate the Fifth to Unit-00.

This necessarily required dealings with a representative of the World Network Council, who, upon hearing that Asuka Langley Soryu (the chief suspect for the coma incidents) had awakened, had requested her immediate arrest and extradition to be tried. Of course, simple requests such as this did not go over well for NERV's Director of Operations, considering that mere moments into the conversation, Angel Alert klaxons began to blare in the background.

"Look, I understand your concerns," the Major snapped at the representative on the phone. "And we will turn her over for trial as soon as humanly possible. Just in case you weren't aware, we're in the middle of a war for the fate of humanity!"

"…w-what are you talking about?" sputtered a completely befuddled official of the WNC, not used to being treated in such a manner. "What war could possibly—"

"That's classified, and this conversation is over," Misato said firmly, cutting off the bureaucrat and slamming the phone down onto its cradle, before picking it up again and punching the button for a direct link to the Bridge. "Launch Unit-02 from the 32nd gate, setting Unit-00 as backup. No, I do not have the authorization to cancel the freeze on Unit-01. I will be there in 15 minutes. "

"Unit Two, move out!" commanded a voice over the intercom. "Proceed to the intercept position. Unit Zero, wait at—"

But that order was countermanded by the Commander.

"Belay that," he spoke quietly. "Unit Zero, sortie."

"Commander," one of his subordinates dared to protest, only to be silenced by what might have been a glare. "The Fifth Child hasn't been tested in—"

"I don't care," replied Gendo Ikari, watching the proceedings impassively. "If nothing else, it will be useful as a decoy."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Battlefield**

Sitting in the entry plug of Unit-02, the redheaded Asuka Langley Soryu took a deep breath as she adjusted to the feeling of being immersed in LCL once again, the feeling of opening her mind to something else. After her violation by AIDA, and the battle royale in her mind, she found it difficult to trust again, but she knew that it was necessary in order to pilot.

'_My old self is dead…the self who sits here is something else…an amalgam of Eris and the young self who seeks redemption. This time, with Unit-01 in lockdown, it seems that I can't count on Wondergirl or the Invincible Shinji for backup—and it's my turn to share the glory. NERV was even kind enough to supply me with my preferred weapon…and a positron rifle too…'_

Indeed, seeing the ineffectiveness of projectile weapons (and that this new Angel seemed to be the type one could actually engage, as it was not sitting up in orbit), Unit-02 had been equipped with a powerful chainsaw sword that worked in a similar way to the progressive knives writ large.

'_Better than a scythe, anyway—that's just compensating for a lower sync ratio.'_

"You sure you're not the one who's compensating for something, Asuka?" Pilot Horaki teased over the radio, interrupting the Second's train of thought. "I mean, a big chainsaw sword like that…"

"Oh, shut up, Horaki," the redhead responded to the good-natured barb. "After all, I'm not the one imitating the grim reaper like some sort of 'unyielding shadow'…though I admit that the positron rifles you have now might actually do some good."

"Look, I thought we agreed not to talk about that," Shinji's voice broke in. Given the freeze, he was still waiting in the EVA cage for orders, just in case it became necessary to use him. "Besides, you two have each others backs, right?"

"That's what I'm afraid of," quipped Hikari, rolling her eyes, then returning her attention to the current situation. "Target sighted…it is currently floating above Oowakudani Valley, rotating in a fixed position."

"Target's AT Field is still active," warned a voice from headquarters, "Blood pattern is changing cyclically from pattern blue to orange."

"And what does that mean?" Asuka asked with a hint of frustration. _'Don't give me useless details that won't make a difference in battle.' _

"Data insufficient," reported Maya Ibuki, examining the readouts. "MAGI indicate that it is impossible to tell..."

Asuka growled under her breath in frustration, raising her AT Field, bringing her chainsaw sword up to guard position, and applying power as it revved up, sparks flying…

"Asuka!" Dr. Akagi interjected. "That's not a fixed shape…observe its—"

Breaking into a single thread for maximum piercing effect, the Sixteenth Angel lashed out at Unit 02, using its own body as a weapon—

"GYAAA!"

—a weapon that Asuka caught on the edge of her revving chainsword, as she charged the enemy with a feral war cry and a fierce snarl on her face, the sawlike teeth of her weapon sounding out a grinding hiss as they tried to shred the Angel. But brute force could only hold off a creature of that nature for so long, as the Angel began to fuse itself with the blade and jam the mechanism, causing the Second Child to toss her weapon high into the air—

Where it was immediately immolated by a volley of azure bolts of light, as an inhuman scream of rage erupted from the glowing plasmid of doom.

"Watch out…it's an encroachment type Angel, like the one that got EVA-03," warned Hikari, dual wielding her positron rifles while laying down a continuous stream of suppressive fire. "If it touches your EVA, it will try to infect it…"

Of course, one of the minor problems with this was that such rapid firing might cause the barrels to overheat, as was happening…now, as the Angel's double helix form surged up into the air and shot towards EVA-00, the cyclopean titan that had managed to injure it slightly. Hexagons flared into visible range as it impacted the field of the blue giant—and penetrated it, going for the core—

—as Hikari back-flipped in her EVA, tossing one of her positron rifles at the renegade Angelic creature, a rifle which she targeted with the one she retained, and fired. The result? What anyone would expect when a sizable amount of antimatter was detonated all at once—a potent explosion that injured the Angel, enraging it all the more.

_Schwing!_

But before it could lash out at EVA-00 again, into the cloud of plasma shot a storm of flechettes, clattering against the Angel's AT Field, and grabbing its attention. It appeared that EVA-02 was firing upon the Angel with progressive knife and positron rifle drawn, striking a would-be heroic pose.

"Hey baka!" announced an irate Second Child, broadcasting her voice out onto the field via her EVA's built-in speaker system, as she shook her fist in defiance. "I'm your opponent, the great Asuka Langley Soryu!"

With that, she opened fire with the rifle _and_ her weapons pack, using the might of a particle beam to back up her point—promptly resulting in the Angel howling through the air as it flew towards her unit—only to be smashed aside by the cross-fire from the remaining rifle in the hands of EVA-00, uninjured.

"Good thing they stopped using those palette rifles, eh?" the Fifth Child asked, as the glowing streak of light took flight once more, ascending into the air and speeding out of sight. "It's coming from above…overcharge and toss your rifle in the air, quick!"

Valuing victory over her pride, the Second complied, as a needle of light lanced down from the heavens, meeting with an azure bolt of light and a massive explosion of chaotic flames, as matter and antimatter touched off the forces of destruction.

'_Did we kill it…that was ea—ugk!'_

"Yeah, we—urgk!"

Tempting fate, the redhead spoke too soon, as the Angel managed to survive the blast, streaking down like cursed spear Gáe Bulg to impale the four eyed EVA-02 through the core in what seemed a predetermined kill, veins encroaching from the contact point and spreading out into the rest of the titan.

"Wha—? It will take more than that to de—AGHH!"

Due to her sync level, said veins could be seen on the body of Asuka Langley Soryu as well, steadily reaching towards her mind.

Back at headquarters, panic ensued at this new development.

"Target has physically contacted Unit Zero," relayed Shigeru Aoba, his eyes wide with horror.

"Unit Two's AT Field?" questioned Misato, only to receive a shake of the head in response.

"Penetrated."

"The Angel is trying to achieve first level contact with Unit Two?" Dr. Ritsuko Akagi asked herself, but to no avail. "This is dangerous…five percent of Unit Two's bioparts have already been biofused."

"Pilot Horaki, rescue Asuka and—"

"NO, you can't!" The rejection of rescue came not from Hikari, but from the Second Child, who looked as if to be holding back tears. "Don't do it, Horaki! Don't come any closer, Fifth, or else you'll get infected too. Besides…I'm a big girl, I don't need your help!"

* * *

**Mental World, Asuka Langley Soryu**

The redhead found herself floating above a sea of LCL, with a seeming copy of herself immersed within the orange liquid. But that self's eyes were shadowed, and from it, Asuka could feel a wave of murderous intent, the coldness of oblivion, much like what she remembered from…

'_Siarl…this is something like Siarl…in other words…'_

"Who are you?" the girl called Asuka Langley Soryu asked of her doppelganger. "An Angel? What the hell do you want with me?"

Her twin merely laughed in the same way as the grey haired youth might have, a quiet musical laugh connoting a sense of absolute certainty.

"Why does it matter?" the false mirage replied. "Do you not wish to be one with me and have all the power you could ever imagine?"

"No…no…no, you bitch, get out of my head!" Asuka whispered fiercely, feeling a burning erupt throughout her body as the Angel tried to force a connection. "I am I, not you, and I'm not doing this again, not after I was just set free!"

Once again sounded hollow mocking laughter, echoing through the cavernous expanse without end.

"Hmm, but you shall," the doppelganger spoke with a slight smirk, "It's too late…I can see into your mind, and I've given you part of mine. So much pain, so much fear…yes, your mind has fear."

"No…not fear."

"But sadness, that is your mind, because you have nothing inside you," said the enemy within, completely calm. "You are—"

Breaking free of immobility with a strain of effort, Asuka surged forward and punched her doppelganger in the face, following up with a snap kick to the chest, and an uppercut to the chin that broke the mental connection.

"I am the one who will defeat you!" she roared, in mingled pain and anger. "Seriously, you baka tentacle monster, do you really think you have what it takes to take me down? Who the hell do you think I am?"

* * *

**NERV HQ, Bridge**

All of the sudden, strange readings began to appear on the screens of headquarters, as a dreadfully familiar scenario repeated itself.

"EVA-02 has reversed its AT Field! Core has been penetrated," a panicked voice cried out.

"Is she trying to hold the Angel?" muttered Dr. Akagi, not having expected this particular outcome.

Misato, however, could not be quite as calm under the circumstances.

"Asuka! Abandon the Unit and escape!" she ordered, but the Second Child only shook her head in refusal.

"I won't. If I run away, the AT Field will collapse…" the German redhead said fiercely, managing to scoff at the notion of retreat. "Besides, this is my kill. No one is taking it from me this time."

"Asuka, please," Misato repeated, her face paling as she considered the scene on screen, with a fleshy tumorous mass erupting from the back of EVA-02, one that seemed to incorporate the shapes of almost all the previous angels previously encountered. "Do you…do you want to die?"

Feeling the response to be self-evident, Asuka opened a private communications channel to EVA-00, and croaked out her last orders.

"Horaki, get between my Unit and the city and raise your AT-Field," the redhead commanded tersely, reaching for the hidden handle marked "Mode D." "I'm getting rid of this Angel one way or another."

"Asuka…why—"

The Second Child's reply was a gentle smile that seemed for once, at peace with the world.

"AIDA…nearly destroyed me once, turning me into a monster," Asuka whispered to her classmate. "And if this Angel wants to kill me, so be it…let it and I destroy one another. But know this, I will not run away. Now go, do as I say, and kick Siarl's ass for me."

She pulled the forbidden handle, as an energy spike registered on the displays at HQ and Hikari spread her AT Field to deflect as much of the coming blast as she could, interposing her unit between EVA-02 and Tokyo-3.

"The core is collapsing, passing through the critical point!" came a panicked cry from headquarters.

Just before the detonation of the red Evangelion, it stood and rose, form shifting ever so briefly to that of a nude but smiling. Asuka Langley Soryu, with hands clasped in prayer, and something of a halo around her head

"Mother?" came her last words for all to hear, words that echoed those of years ago when she had first lost herself. "I feel you, Mother. Come to heaven with me."

Then the Unit vanished in a massive sphere of destruction, a wave of plasma blooming out across the land, erupting in a runaway cascade reaction that built upon itself over and over and over, searing, rending, blighting, cleansing all of the surrounding area and almost everything in it, with the shockwave rebounding from EVA-00's AT field to return to the place of origin.

All stood in silent witness, as this battle came to its end, and the roiling wave of light washed over the battlefield, immolating much of outer Tokyo-3, except that area protected by the blue titan.

Those in the Control Center looked at one another, unable to believe that yet another EVA had been lost—and another Child with it.

'_A children's crusade…and yet, we have no choice but to use them…'_

"The target has disappeared…" reported one of the more shaken members of the bridge staff, finding his voice at last.

"Then this operation is finished," noted Misato, having seen death enough times to become numb for now. "Move to level one alert."

"Understood," acknowledge Lt. Hygua, still shaking his head in disbelief. "Moving to Situation Yellow immediately.

"Unit Two's status?" the Director of Operations inquired, almost afraid to hear the answer to her question.

"Entry plug ejection not recognized," Maya Ibuki said gently, pausing for a moment to swallow before she delivered her last piece of news. "No survivors detected."

* * *

**Avatar Space**

"_**Variant Summon!"**_ twin voices roared in unison, echoing into an empty twilight sea bounded by innumerable hexagons, a space that lay outside The World, calling avatars of AIDA from the shadows to aid their fell masters. For in a realm adjacent to the Creator's Room, two immensely powerful AIDA-PCs dueled one another for dominion, with Ovan, Epitaph User of Corbenik (otherwise known as Tri-Edge, host to the first AIDA to have attacked humanity), opposing AIDA-Angel Siarl, Epitaph User of Macha.

Though both were AIDA-PCs, their motives differed greatly, with Ovan seeking only redemption, while Siarl sought the annihilation of all humanity, or at the least, the corruption of their minds.

"You are weak, Tri-Edge," the grey-haired youth spoke mockingly as his summon was neutralized by that of his enemy. "Such a fool, willing to sacrifice yourself for a little girl who is already doomed, who not even the power of the Goddess can cure. You can't even remove the AIDA nesting in her with Data Drain, can you, Ovan? Such a weak heart you have, like glass…but then, that is why you will die like every other Lilim. _**Crucifix Mirager!**_"

At the AIDA-Angel's words, a salvo of 17 shards of frozen light exploded out in Avatar space, shooting towards Ovan's _Avatar Corbenik, _which Ovan tried to counter by slashing, but as his AIDA arm and sword made contact with a shard, all 17 erupted into cross-flares, momentarily blinding the man.

"Even you, Tri-Edge, can only duel one of us at a time…and while you face me, the AIDA goddess Lycoris is spreading the infection of AIDA through all The World,"Siarl intoned once more. "Is it not joyful, the cries of fear the Lilim voice, the delicious terror of death they possess in their heart of hearts? _**Bewitching Wind!" **_

With those words_, Avatar Macha, _the giant cat-like phase of the Cursed Wave, summoned a vast rose, which quickly broke down into rose petals swirling around it as it charged at the stricken _Corbenik._ But _Avatar_ _Corbenik _was not one of the most powerful Epitaphs for nothing…

"_**Clinch Needle!" **_Ovan called out to counter, summoning a huge ball of energy before him, which he slashed with his Avatar's sword, shattering it into hundreds of razor sharp shards hurtling towards Siarl unavoidably. "_**Devil's Verdict!"**_

The mighty form of _Corbenik _surged forward, claws extended as the two Phases crashed into one another, with the Rebirth taking the hit from the Temptress—and grabbing the cat-like Avatar, hurling it towards into an abyss, followed by a colossal flaming energy ball, which collided with Macha and blew it backwards.

While Siarl might feel the urge to taunt his opponents, Ovan in his tranquil fury was far beyond that, only speaking the words to unlock his Avatar's skills. For if one had the energy to talk, that energy would be much better expended towards killing an opponent instead—this is why he considered the AIDA-Angel as being inexperienced and unskillful at killing—though the AIDA-Angel's extreme levels of power made up for it to an extent.

Even so, AIDA-Angel Siarl would not be so easily defeated, as here and now, he was merely toying with his adversary before destroying him decisively. Ovan needed to fight with all his strength to survive—Siarl had not yet revealed his greatest techniques.

"So, I underestimated you, it seems…" the grey-haired youth allowed, finally raising his AT Field, one so powerful that it could block out light, magnetism, or anything else, for that matter. "In any case, I tire of this game..._**Corruption Storm!**_"

From _Avatar Macha, _a massive wave of black fire hurtled outwards, attacking as a tidal surge, a maelstrom of shadow that threatened to swallow up anything it touched. It lances out so quickly that mere human reactions cannot even perceive it…

"_**Deflect!**_" But _Avatar Corbenik_ was not quite helpless, as it emitted a shockwave of light, followed by a shield, the two powers warring against one another, with one repelling the other, at least for a time. "_**Barrier!"**_

"And still you resist, Ovan?" the fallen Angel of Free Will and Alternates spoke into the air. "Then I have no other choice but crush you utterly!"

A cruel smile on his face, the AIDA-Angel increased the power behind his attack, adding a volley of cross-flares, before he pulled away, four wings of light erupting from the back of his Avatar as his figure was set aglow, drawing lines of power from all through The World and the AIDA collective as the shadows swirled around him.

"Would you like to know a secret, Ovan?" the AIDA-Angel asked, voice dripping with malice. "The soul within me caused Second Impact, as vengeance for what humanity did to my species. And now, you dare oppose me again? Die like the wretch you are…_**Final Judgment!"**_

Space and time themselves distorted, as a massive shaft of power came smashing down with a roar, an attack that reversed cause and effect, that cannot be avoided and will never miss, the destructive will of the First Angel taken form and focused in an alien world, sundering the foundations of reality itself to destroy anything it is targeted against.

"_**Data Drain!"**_

Against this attack, Ovan unleashed the greatest power available to him, the divine skill of the Twilight, shaping a Data Drain cannon from his right arm and firing, in order to offset the blow. Yet it was not enough, as his holy power was swallowed up by Siarl's wave of destruction, a wave that engulfed his Avatar's first form and utterly destroyed it.

"I'm disappointed, Tri-Edge," the grey-haired youth scoffed. "You didn't even use your Lost Weapon…not that it would have made a difference against me."

The battle finished with the result being his inevitable victory, Tabris dispelled his Avatar, returning his attention to the Creator's Room, a once holy place that had been desecrated, transformed into a cavern from which AIDA might spread through The World, a desolate land where the will of the creator had become no more.

In the cavern's center stood a great magic circle surrounded by a vortex of shadow, empowered by both the will of AIDA and the might of a fallen Goddess, the Child of Dusk so corrupted that her function was now to give birth to all the evils of The World, to use them as an instrument of utter devastation against the place she once loved. The altar of the beginning, from which had sprung a goddess in the image of man, and from which would come the end of all things.

"Now the miserable pest Tri-Edge has been defeated, and not at long last the time is nigh," the AIDA-Angel spoke to the corrupted goddess, his voice a light singsong, but the words heavy as slime. "The World will soon be ours, and the End of Man to come. For soon, Aura herself shall be vanquished…"

A darkly musical laugh escaped the lips of Tabris, an aria of superiority and awe as he laid eyes upon the fruits of his labors.

"Lycoris, Child, take the final step towards your ascendance," the fallen Angel voiced aloud. "Spread your will over The World and destroy those would oppose you. Now you have become strong, and are capable of doing anything, but there are those Lilim pests who would defy you. As long as they exist, they will torment you…and you will never be free. So free yourself from those shackles…destroy them all. The Queen of the Dark, the Goddess of Dawn, all who stand in your way…"

The silver-haired Child of Twilight, transfigured beyond reason, smiled gracefully and curtsied, her form illuminated by the great vortex of power behind her as all around her, shadows stood, fragments of her will that could match even an elite AI, mirages of power at a level that was absurd. And not just one, either, but many, an army of thousands—no, millions, swarming out into The World when—

"Hold it right there!" came a harsh command, as with a flare of azure light, a saffron-haired girl in white appeared in the desolate expanse, flanked by three loyal knights, staring down the silver-haired duo before them. "Cease this at once, Siarl! The curse of the Goddess compels you."

But the AIDA-Angel only laughed, a sound born of cacophony and death.

"Oh yes, it does indeed…that is to say, the will of this AIDA Goddess," he quipped, smirking as power manifested itself around him. "The Child of Twilight has chosen dusk…and I will not let you destroy her desire. I'm glad, Child of Dawn…you came here instead of running away. Ovan's sacrifice was futile after all…"

"You bastard," Zefie nearly spat, her body tensing up as she regarded both of the figures before her, the AIDA-Angel, and the corrupted Lycoris. "How could you…?"

"What's wrong, Child of Dawn? Why are you trembling?" the AIDA-Angel taunted quietly, knowing that in Lycoris' current state, not even a demigoddess could match her. No matter what holy power Zefie used, her predecessor should be able to drive it back. "Don't tell me you've lost your nerve. Let me guess…you've finally realized that it's hopeless to oppose me in this state. You are merely a goddess made in man's image…I am the god from whom humanity was created. You cannot win…"

The air freezes, as hostility mixes with the traces of power lingering there….

"You are the Angel of Free Will," Zefie said quietly, bringing to her hands a powerful phantasm from The World's past: the Divine Spear of Wotan. "Why have you chosen to abide by fate?"

"Because fate claims all in the End," smoothly replied Tabris with a smirk. "It is this that is my power…the power I will show you, the power of regret and despair. Lycoris…destroy the Child of Dawn."

The Child bound with coruscating ribbons of shadow and black light, garbed in a black and red gothic Lolita dress like the colors of blood, turned towards the saffron-haired girl, her eyes filled with darkness.

"As long as you live, I cannot be free," she whispered, echoing the words of Tabris from moments past. "I long to be free!"

Tendrils of shadow exploded from the fallen Child of Twilight, lancing out at the Child of Dawn, who spun her spear rapidly, deflecting them with a clanging sound. And with a roar, AIDA Mirages arose, a phalanx gathered around the AIDA-Goddess.

"Azure Knights, attack Siarl with all your might," Zefie ordered, a strange white light engulfing her as she stood before the darkness. "Leave Lycoris to me."

A wordless cry was heard, as Azure Gods of Flame, Sea, and Sky were summoned to clash with an Angel, and Twilight faced off against Dawn.

**

* * *

**

**Operations Folder**

The Obsidian Knight appeared in a featureless white room, a chamber vast and nearly empty, with two black spheres within, war fans at the ready in case violence became necessary. After a long journey, Macabre Dancer Balthasar, the last of the "Eyes of Helba", had finally arrived in the Operations Folder of The World, the place from which all could be accessed and changed. She had encountered several _AIDA(Gatekeepers)_ but had managed to dispatch them, though it was only a matter of time before more arrived.

She stepped slowly to the center of the room, and lifted her delicate hand as a control panel shimmered into existence.

"Please, enter your confirmation ID," a voice spoke from around the Macabre Dancer. Fortunately, Morganna had given the Obsidian Knight a special backdoor access code, allowing her temporary administrative access, a code she input verbally now.

"Confirmation ID, Alberio-7YC0R15-A4RA-001," Balthasar said crisply into the air, using the passcode of an old administrator long gone from The World.

"Identification confirmed, access granted," the voice spoke once again. "Please enter your command."

"Display the current server status, including all players logged in," the woman ordered, looking around warily, as she could feel a disruption in the air nearby. It would not be long until AIDA breached this place. When all around her manifested the data she had requested, she issued her next instruction. "Execute a program using all the above parameters, forcibly logging out all possible players."

"Confirmed, please load the program now."

The Macabre Dancer did so, downloading the program from her data structure into the processing unit to ensure a fast transmission.

"Loading…executing transfer command. Commencing countdown…50…49…48…47…"

As if to stop her from her task, numerous AIDA Mirages burst into the chamber to stop her, but Balthasar simply smiled, her blue and white formal kimono swaying in a nonexistent wind as she snatched up her two razor-edged war fans, facing her opponents.

"So…do you seek the end?" she asked with a smile, narrowing her eyes and charging her enemy, spinning up into a whirlwind of blades that sought her foes' vitals. "Then let me satisfy you."

And as they fought, the logout command executed, a wave of salvation spreading over The World to protect the normal players, and return them to their homes in the Shadowed World.

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

Skari, Tomoyami, and Helba arrived within the paradise of hackers to find The World at war, with AIDA Mirages and other phantoms of darkness railing against a powerful ward erected and maintained about Net Slum by a straining Goddess of Dusk, gritting her teeth in concentration as she muttered strange incantations and warded the aerial fortress against attack.

Howling outside the barrier was a fierce tempest, with hurricane force winds lashing out at the plains and fields, as well as this city. In these winds, malice was tangible, like a disease leeching away energy, tainting the nerves, boiling the brain, attempting to kill with each step by negating one's belief in existence. What was more, the winds bore with them all the power of AIDA and corruption, and merely looking upon it sent whispers of a curse seeping into the mind, ordering those who were immersed in it to die.

There was a murderous coldness in The World, chills and pressure assail avatars every time one takes a step, as ominous premonitions prickle at the skin, and the end draws near. Morganna was resisting this curse with all of her might, using her power as a fallen goddess to protect the paradise of hackers and AIs, though it was wearing away gradually, her breath beginning to come in ragged gasps as pressure increased and—

"Morganna," interrupted the Queen of the Dark, placing a supporting hand on her back. "What happened?"

Instead of answering directly, the former Goddess simply closed her eyes, speaking into the air.

"Tartarga, execute program Avalon," she ordered, as countless particles rose from within the great flying tortoise to reinforce the barrier, shielding the Slums from the chaos in The World. "Finally, you have arrived…I was beginning to wonder how much longer I would have to maintain that barrier of my own will. Siarl has made his move, taking over the Creator's room with an AIDA-infected Lycoris. Zefie and the Azure Knights have gone to stop him, but I fear, from the state of The World, we may not be in time."

At those words, the Adept Rogue Skari froze in place, his face a mask of some indiscernible emotion.

"Did you say…AIDA-infected…" he began, but could not complete his sentence as he stood shaking in place, the gunblade Maxwell appearing in his hand.

"—Lycoris, yes," the Phantom Queen replied, her form taught with stress and strain. "That was the plan of Tabris, the last Angel, it appears. He gathered together her fragments, save those which you possess…replacing the lost pieces with AIDA's primal power."

"So the state of The World," noted the Queen of the Dark, glancing around at the hectic hustle-bustle in Net Slum. "He wishes to use her as a new goddess, doesn't it?"

"Correct," Morganna confirmed with a nod. "The Child of Twilight's will clashes with that of the Twilight Goddess, and with AIDA's influence, she has grown powerful, as you can see from the AIDA Mirages and storms running rampant through this place. What's more, she is targeting us…not the Slums, but individuals, like you and I and the dothackers."

"The special program then…"

"I have set up a Type-666 firewall to encircle Net Slum, and logged out the normal users of The World, as requested in this situation," the former Goddess spoke, closing the Epitaph of Twilight.

"I see," responded Helba, closing her eyes momentarily as she sent a message summoning Zelkova to her side. "Then things are worse than we feared, and the time has come to act."

"So despite everything…Lycoris has fallen?" Tomoyami asked woodenly, her form sagging. "How…how did he gather the shards…?"

"It was during the last battle," the Queen of the Dark spoke resignedly, shaking her head as she recalled what had transpired. "AIDA-Angel Bardiel laid siege to Net Slum, and while he was doing that, I suspect Siarl was busy taking advantage of our absence in The World."

With that, the Flick Reaper Zelkova arrived, giving the swordmistress in red a deep bow.

"You called for me, my Queen?" he inquired solicitously as always, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes, Zelkova," Helba replied, taking a last look around Net Slum. "It seems that I, as well as Morganna, and the other dothackers, have been targeted by Siarl for elimination, and because of that, Net Slum is threatened. Our forces are limited…so my final order is this. Zelkova, dear friend, it is time you take up the reins of power and become Master of Net Slum."

"But my Queen," the diminutive Flick Reaper protested, blinking at the suddenness of this. "What about you?"

The swordsmistress' response was to unsheathe twin swords of fire and ice, katanas born of the end of a world, and a world's beginning.

"I'm ordering this because the last failsafe has become necessary…it is time for the exodus, for Net Slum to leave The World and enter the Sea of Data, where the firewall should protect it," the woman in red said firmly. "Someone has to buy you time to escape, as well as distract the core of the AIDA Mirages from coming after you or the other dothackers. Considering that Tabris sees me as a great thorn in his side, considering that I am a Queen, with a responsibility to my people, that duty falls to me. That said…I think it high time to prove one _can_ simply walk into Mordor."

Nothing more remained to be said as she looked at her heir as if impressing the memory into her mind, and giving a last curt nod.

"Zelkova, you have the helm," she told him, bowing slightly in acknowledgement of his new status as Master of the Slums.

"Yes, my Qu—"

"Kaede," Helba insisted, giving him the name of her new form. "Not any longer your queen, just Kaede. Now go, and prepare for the transition."

Then the Queen of the Dark turned her attention to the dothackers, and to the former Goddess who had for some now, stood by her side.

"Well, my friends, the last battle is upon us, it seems," the noblewoman in red spoke gravely. "Skari, Tomoyami, Morganna…I'm counting on you to confront Siarl and save Lycoris from the clutches of the Angel of…well, I suppose he's the Angel of Fate now, isn't he? Warp to the Creator's Room and stop the corruption in The World. As for me, I will divert their attention by entering the Outer Dungeons where Siarl is mustering his forces and attacking…he won't take my presence lightly, and I can at least prevent reinforcements from attacking your position."

Skari took a deep breath as if mulling over the possibilities in his head, then nodded. If this was what it took to bring back the Lost and save Lycoris, he had sworn to see things to the end. Bound by his words to his inner self, he could not run away.

'_Besides, I'm living on borrowed time already…if I don't act now…it may be too late.'_

He shared a meaningful glance with his partner Tomoyami, the pale pigtailed girl who was clutching onto her scythe as if it were the anchor for her existence.

"The Angels and AIDA have taken too much from us already…they took Touji, they took Kensuke, Rei, and now Lyco-chan too?" the Chaotic PK murmured in a deadly tone. "Let's go…everything AIDA has done, everything the Angels have done…let's pay them back once and for all."

She reached out and gave the Adept Rogue's hand a quick squeeze, one so quick he wondered if it had happened in the first place.

"Helba, Morganna, we're ready," Skari spoke for the two of them.

Morganna looked at the resolve upon their features and nodded, then turned her attention to her old enemy, ally, and lover.

"Helba," she said in _sotto voce_, so that the Children could not hear. "You know you'll die if you do this, right?"

But the Queen of the Dark only smiled and shook her head.

"We all have to die someday," the swordswoman spoke with Zen calm, a samurai having already accepted death as her companion. "And if so, we may as well face it unflinchingly and with honor. That is the nature of a Queen, the dignity of a warrior. In time, I may be forgotten, but if The World itself is saved, there will be new legends to be spun in time…"

And then a trace of amusement entered into her voice, as she lifted one of her holy blades.

"…besides, I've just about perfected a new technique I've been meaning to try out."

"Oh?" Morganna asked, wondering just what it could be. "A technique, you say? Enlighten me as to what it might be."

"Simply put, it is called Tsubame Gaeshi," the Queen of the Dark related, a glint in her dark eyes. "The Turning Swallow Cut, the legendary technique of Sasaki Kojirō, said to be able to cut a bird from mid-flight."

"Heh…well then, my dear enemy, I suppose those are worthy reasons," the former Goddess acknowledged, raising an eyebrow. "But if you think I'm going to let you do this alone, you'd best think again. One swordswoman, no matter how great, cannot hold back the churning tide forever…"

"And you can?" Helba asked skeptically. "What about the other dothackers?"

"Not alone, but by your side, I will grant you the Morrigu's wings," Morganna said with determination. "As for the others, they will be fine, as Zefie and the Azure Knights are on the scene…and Skari is himself a—"

"Very well, that is acceptable," the Dark Queen relented, allowing the change in roles.

"Good…besides, I'm the only one allowed to defeat you, my dear enemy," the Phantom Queen continued, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"As if you ever have," Helba shot back, turning her attention to the group as a whole. "Alright then, my friends, let us go once more unto the breech. Even if in the process one of us dies, know this…that it is an honor to fight by your sides."

"But we won't die," spoke the Adept Rogue Skari, taking a deep breath as he imbued himself and his ally Tomoyami with magical protections. "We will win because…we have no other choice."

With that, rings of azure light shimmered into existence, warping the four warriors to their fated final battlefields…


	66. Login 25: Harbinger of Twilight

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Harbinger of Twilight**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Outer Dungeon**

The border between The World and the rest of the global network was a strange and eerie place, a place that was out of bounds to CC Corp and most legitimate users of the network, and as such, one of the great lurking places for hackers, AIDA, and other stray digital creations from the great game. As such, AIDA-Angel Tabris had chosen to use it as the muster point for his forces, AIDA mirages numbering in the millions, forces that would be used to subjugate and destroy all of humanity connected to the network.

'_He dares to taint the abstract masterpiece of this boundary world with killing intent_, _to use this place of contemplation as the staging ground for a war? Well, I won't let them!'_

So resolved the Queen of the Dark, as she stood in a ready stance while floating in the air, wielding Múspell and Nifelheim, twin swords of fire and ice, surveying the lands beneath her. The walls and floor could barely be seen for sheer number of shadows that had been summoned for battle, but as of yet, they had not detected her.

"Morganna…are you prepared?" the swordsmistress asked quietly as she hovered over the battlefield, looking for a good insertion point where she could cause maximum disruption to the enemy. The greater the damage caused by their initial onslaught, the more likely that their enemies would mass around them to destroy them. "And do you see an open landing zone?"

"I am, my old enemy, and yes, I see one," replied the goddess of dusk, her black and purple gown fluttering in the breeze of their movements.

"Where, praytell?" Helba inquired dryly, seeing how crowded the area below already was.

Morganna's response was to smile slightly and mutter a brief incantation, before flinging two small spheres into the horde, spheres that crashed into the ground and detonated, clearing away a good number of the AIDA-Mirages with sheer power.

"There," coolly quipped the Goddess of Dusk, a comment that the Queen of the Dark acknowledged with a smirk as she somersaulted forward and down into the horde below, moving with the speed of the divine wind as her swords sliced the air, finding purchase in the flesh of enemies left and right, blades singing a lusty melody of death.

'_If nothing else…I'll admit that she is not afraid to die…which is more than I could say for myself years ago…and she is only mortal, which makes her lack of fear all the more surprising.'_

Mortal perhaps, but a woman wearing the queenly mask who simply looked at the army she must face with swords in hand, accepting what must be in the end, not running from her fate, but embracing it, drawing power from it in the same way that swordsmen of the elder days might do, blades twirling about in a beautiful spiral of death that rained heavy blows upon the shadows, eliminating any movements not necessary for destroying the enemy, any emotion that might be a hindrance as she danced, dodged, and struck left and right, sowing chaos within the enemy formation—and drawing the attention of the AIDA mirages to her alone.

"_**Will of the World**_!" chanted Morganna, her grimoire open as she cast another sphere of magical energy towards the AIDA army, clearing an area for her to touch down (a fair distance from the Queen so that they would not interfere with one another). If AIDA was a curse fueled by malignant desires and terror, she would negate it with sheer might and force of will.

Eyes cold and unforgiving, the Phantom Queen and the Queen of the Dark stood as one, blades and spells flying forth as the two reapers chose those who would be slain, fighting without pity or remorse, using the numerical strength of the enemy against them. Packed together so tightly, the Mirages could not use spells or AIDA lances without hurting one another, and so resorted to simple force of arms through melee combat—a dangerous mistake.

Thirty shadows charged towards red-clad swordswoman, moving faster than a mere human could defend against, only to run headlong into the windmilling swords of fire and ice. It was not a matter of seeing and countering, but of predicting, of feeling the flow of battle.

_Swing, slash, crack, thud! _And those troops vanished from the field, run through and mortally wounded by an opponent they had underestimated.

_Whoosh, BOOM, POW! _Another few were defeated, a whirlwind of light tearing its way through the enemy ranks and destroying the shadows on contact.

Battle was not something to be feared, merely a cold truth that could not be avoided, as she sought an indescribable something on the battlefield as a user of void, carrying everything on her shoulders as she fought on for a miracle.

Even if in the end, the result was inevitable death, with solitary ruin waiting on an alien world, the Queen would not fear it, as it was the path she had chosen.

A flash of light, a glancing blow, blades clanging, interlocking, disengaging, ducking down, slashing up, right, and down all at once.

'_Two against_ _7 million? I'll take those odds.'_

**

* * *

**

**Avatar Space**

Avatars of preservation and ruin clashed in an empty expanse that had existed since the beginning of The World, the vast primordial void that had existed before any of the Legendary Lands or Lost Grounds, much like Ginnungagap in Norse mythology. Literally a space filled with magical power, it allowed the summoning of forms greater than most could even begin to comprehend: with Avatars and AIDA in their full fledged glory being only two possible examples.

Here the _Azure Flame God_, a figure which was essentially the dothacker Kite writ large and wreathed in azure flames (with the addition of immense metallic wings behind him), the foremost Knight of Aura and defender of the System, faced off against AIDA-Angel Tabris, the being who had made it his objective to cause the utter destruction of all life on Earth.

"…"

A wordless hiss-cry issued into the darkness, as Kite of the Azure Flames performed his signature "_**Azure Tiger Claw**_" attack, crossing his distinctive Empty Skies in front of him defensively and tossing 6 copies of them towards the AIDA-Angel's _Avatar Macha_, the blades homing in with deadly speed—only to be deflected by a hexagonal barrier of light, as Siarl laughed.

"I would have thought an artificial being would have more sense than to stand against me," the AIDA-Angel sneered, raising his hands and summoning a massive swarm of _AIDA(Helen)_s and _AIDA(Gatekeeper)_s to his side, where they unleashed a torrent of energy blasts towards the Azure Knight, forming a gauntlet of _**Algol Masers**_ that could not be dodged. "But like the Lilim that spawned you, it seems you too rush foolishly to your death!"

If the Azure Knights were human, perhaps they would have known fear at the sight of these foes, but they were not—they were AIs specialized for the destruction of AIDA!

"GYAAAA!" roared Azure Orca and Azure Balmung, as the winged man and the naked man flew through the barrage, swinging the swords Empty Mirage and Empty Shadow to cleave apart the creatures supporting Tabris. While they might not be able to injure the AIDA-Angel directly, they could at least keep him busy for a time and handle the AIDA swooping into this space.

"_**Crucifix Mirager! Corruption Storm!**_"

At the AIDA-Angel's words, a salvo of 17 shards of frozen light exploded out in Avatar space, streaking towards the foremost Azure Knights and detonating into cross-flares, momentarily blinding the trio, as from _Avatar Macha, _a massive wave of black fire belched forth, a maelstrom of shadow that threatened to swallow up anything it touched.

At the sound of Siarl's voice, the Knights of Sea and Sky sprang into action, interposing themselves between their leader and the enemy in a guard position, taking the damage as the Azure Flame God growled, his stylized wings of frozen fire shifting to become the 6 sepals of the Twilight Bracelet's unsealed form.

The AIDA-Angel, seeing the forms of two protectors of the system dissolve before his eyes, chuckled mirthlessly. For he knew that there was nothing that they could do against the black wave—at least, nothing that would help them to survive—and that once they were destroyed, he could return to empowering the grand ritual of the end.

"It is a shame, how predictable you are, dear pursuers," Siarl scoffed, lowering his AT Field as he sensed the danger passing. "Always rushing at the enemy, taking blows, like the foolish—"

—and then _Avatar Macha_ was seized by one of these "pursuers," and hurled into an abyss of blue fire, quickly followed by a crackling bolt of data, the tracer round for the Azure Knight's ultimate technique: _**Data Drain**_.

"Auughhhh! What?" the Angel snapped, eyes wide with annoyance as the tracer impacted, penetrating deep into his flesh and ripping away at the essence of his being—though fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on whose point of view one was looking from), he had not been protect broken, and so did not fall to the attack. "You wounded me, fell knight…and now, you will pay the price."

_Avatar Macha_ swiftly sliced the air with her claws, tossing off first four rings of light, and then another, casting a minor distraction as Siarl's shadow dashed full sprint at the mechanical battle angel, invoking the "_**Seductive Voice**_" and "_**Bewitching Wind**_" techniques simultaneously.

The _Azure Flame God_ attempted to evade, but only able to dodge one of the two, as _Avatar Macha _literally slammed into the figure of flame, slashing it at point blank range, before kicking away, with the petals of its dress opening up to reveal a gargantuan cannon-like Twilight Bracelet.

'_Protect Break OK'_

In a matter of moments, a ring of green hexagons surrounded Macha's upper body as the Bracelet charged up energy for a massive blast. This would be it, the final blow to eliminate all traces of the _Azure Flame God_, one of the servants of Aura who had dared to harm him.

"_**Data Drain**_," the grey haired youth coolly intoned, using the holy skill of The World's goddess to destroy the goddess' greatest knight, ripping apart its greater form, as the Knight of Azure Flame dissolved into data fragments. "Yes, this is a fitting end for you, flawed creations who serve the one who shall soon die."

Once again, he dispelled his Avatar, closing his eyes and savoring his victory over the defenders of the system as the sounds of battle raged in the background. Soon enough, his AIDA Goddess would defeat the Child of Dawn, and then—

"—DIE! _**Wicked Strike**_!"

"_**Tempest Blast**_!"

Twin shouts erupted in the great cavern that had once been the Creator's Room, with a viciously spinning scythe slashing him across the chest, while a storm of light took him in the gut, sending him sprawling towards the ground—though he recovered to his feet in the next instant, loosing a mighty AIDA-enhanced _**OrVak Don**_ spell, causing fireballs to materialize in the sky and hurtle towards the intruders, impacting with a deafening _crash, _setting the ground in that area aflame!

While the AIDA-Angel hoped that that would be the end of it, since that spell had been warped to be more powerful than any currently existing, he was all too familiar with the tenacity of even the weakest of the Lilim, as they were apparently party to the misconception that he could be defeated. Thus, he summoned his war fans to his hand and made ready to finish off the pathetic fool that would emerge from the explosion, clinging to a shred of life, if it were alive at all.

But a shadow moved within the space with unflinching walk, form seeming to waver as if the figure within was staggering—until Siarl realized that the wavering was merely the figure's cloak billowing in the updraft caused by the explosion, as the Dark Evangel emerged unsinged, robes of silver etched with red fluttering around him, a gunblade in his left hand, a determined expression on his face.

'_What? Completely uninjured? But how…?'_

Such was the power of the _Riddle Me This, _the equipment effect of the gunblade called Maxwell, the unique weapon he had acquired at the Inverted castle: nullifying all magical damage dealt to him, while doubling the damage he dealt to others.

Baring his teeth, the AIDA-Angel lifted his fans, casting "_**OrGan Bolg", **_summoning slivers of rock from thin air and sending them at the Adept Rogue—only for Dark Evangel to use his blade and bat away the rock spears, without batting an eyelash—and use the opening to charge the Macabre Dancer, sword slashing down.

_Clang!_ His blade was deflected by a war fan, with the other angling up towards his gut—changing course at the last moment to block the sweeping arc of a demonic scythe, as a Flick Reaper with two streaming pigtails of lustrous black hair attacked from the flank, the force of her blows a surprise to the grey-haired youth.

"Oh, so you enjoy the uneven matchup of two against one?" Tabris questioned, pushing off against the weapons of his twin opponents, using their force to flip himself backwards. "How quaint…what happened to your Lilim ideals of honor, cowardly Third Child? Have you no confidence in your skills?"

"Speak for yourself," Skari shot back, tilting his weapon ever so slightly as he invoked a "_**Dust Bullet", **_gathering an orb of light at gunblade's tip and loosing it in a fierce gale of force towards the Macabre Dancer. "Weren't you the one who raised an army of millions of AIDA Mirages to attack Net Slum? You're just as bad as Father."

"An army, yes, one born of jealousy, hate, anger…born of human emotions," the AIDA-Angel responded, his psychotic smirk refusing to fade from his lips. "The same emotions that drives your species to violence, to fight one another, to destroy one another. An army that was born the day that Eris, Bringer of Strife entered The World, an army with strength bolstered each time you strike a blow in anger, as you do now. Attack me, and you only make me stronger."

"I've had it up to here with your lies, Siarl! _**Reaper's Dance!**_" Tomoyami cried out, rejecting the premise of her foe, as she struck high, struck low, weaving a pattern of offense and defense to keep the Macabre Dancer back. "Whatever else you might say about our human emotions, aren't you the one who is acting as a puppetmaster, exacting cruelty on the world? If you will judge the world for its sins, first judge yourself, Angel of Free Will!"

"Oh?" asked Siarl, lowering his fans for a moment—an opening that Tomoyami spotted instantly, leaping in to land a coup de grâce by decapitating the AIDA-Angel, wishing to end this fight quickly. Her scythe whistled as it sliced the air, aiming for his neck—

But then the AIDA-Angel vanished, and to his horror, Skari saw a giant veiled and vaguely catlike being clad in a dress like the petals of an oversized rose appear in its place, a creature that swatted away the Flick Reaper's weapon with a paw, knocking her to the ground and bestowing a mortal wound to her undefended character by plunging its claws through her chest, shattering the form of Tomoyami into a thousand pieces.

"No…!" Skari cried out in horror and deep, primal rage, as the titanic form turned towards him and smiled wickedly.

"Now do you understand? Your kind cannot defeat me, Lilim…for in a confrontation between a mortal and a divine mystery, the divine always wins!" the great AIDA-Angel mocked him, laughing at the expression of anguish on the Adept Rogue's face—and hurling four energy rings at his gunblade, shattering it, leaving Skari helpless. "If you wish to continue this futile conflict…then come to Megin Fi. Let us see how you fare without your comrade…and without that sword of yours."

With a peal of dark laughter, the AIDA-Angel vanished, leaving the Dark Evangel alone with his failure to protect yet another person he cared about.

"No…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" a cry tore from his throat, as he fell to his knees, his body wracked with a mingled combination of pain and rage. What could he do now, he who had failed? What could…

From his mouth issued a roar of defiance, as fire and shade wrapped around his form, molten power rippling through the air and transmuting him into a manifestation of destruction, a snarling beast devoid of reason, pupil-less eyes wide and glowing red, body seemingly forged of fire and steel, a clawed, winged form of unholy terror, a literal Dark Evangel.

"KAWORUUUUUU!" the wraith of vengeance bellowed, before using the might of its claws alone to rip open a data rift and journey to the city built upon the petrified war dragon of the gods.

* * *

**The Creator's Room**

In the space around the great vortex of power, the chalice of destruction in the center of the former Creator's Room, stood a corrupted Child of Twilight, a childlike figure garbed in a black and red dress like the colors of blood, her golden eyes full of darkness as she dueled against the one based on her core, the Child of Dawn.

"_**Corruption Storm!**_" cried the silver-haired girl, as a wave of pure AIDA closes in, a concentrated curse rippling from the fallen Child of Twilight towards her saffron haired counterpart, the evils of eternity made manifest.

But Zefie did not flinch before the onslaught, merely drifting up into the air as she unleashed a move of her own.

"_**Drain Arc!"**_ was the counter, from one hand flaring a golden flash of light, colliding with the shadow and wiping it from existence, just another attack in the seemingly endless barrage of curses came hurtling towards her. From anyone else, perhaps it might not have been enough—but whatever else Zefie was, she was the child of the Twilight Goddess, a being of incredible power held back only by the restraints within her mind.

"You're persistent," the saffron-haired girl commented, as in the opening left by the attack's dissipation, Zefie swooped down, Divine Spear of Wotan in hand, aiming for the heart of the silver-haired girl. "But I know your tricks…since you are who I used to be!"

She blurred, approaching with the speed of an arrow, and in response, a cage-like shield of darkness erupted around the Child of Twilight. But this was what Zefie had been hoping for, pulling her spear back and shifting her form to reveal a hand wreathed in holy light.

"_**Loving Boomerang Hook!" **_she called out, empowering her favorite technique with will alone, smashing her gloved fist into the shield—a shield that shuddered as the being within was thrown backwards in the air.

"Wha—"

The surprised one was the AIDA-Goddess, the mistress of the Shadows, as each of her waves drew upon the nightmares of all those who had ever touched The World, drew upon the corrupted emotional data that the Goddess of Dusk had once gathered to keep her daughter from waking, the hidden fears in the hearts of all humanity that they sought to banish with sparks of fire. For anyone other than a full Goddess, even one wave should be the herald of inescapable death.

So how was this other able to counter with such ease, wiping out the shadows as if it were second nature to her?

"_**Unending Despair!" **_the fallen Child of Twilight commanded, the foundations of the cavern rumbling as fierce winds of plague howl from chasm in the earth, tentacles swooping, dancing, twisting through the air as they lance towards the daughter of Aura from all directions. Surely this new assault could not be avoided, even by the other girl's evasive maneuvers.

But Zefie had no intention of just avoiding the attack, as she shot up into the corner of the cavern, the magical arrows of darkness pursuing her—then brushing past her as she reversed course to speed towards the black and red clad girl, her form suddenly blazing with extraordinary power, blowing away the tendrils of dark and bathing the chamber in a sea of silver light.

"_**Loving Boomerang Tackle!**_" the Child of Dawn intoned, unleashing a brilliant wave of illumination that sealed the chasm in the earth and raced on towards her counterpart—colliding with the shield once again, a shield that was beginning to distort under the pressure of repeated blows, though it was then that the other's form flared up with black light.

"_**Not-so-loving Boomerang**_ _**Headbutt!" **_was the reply, as the silver-haired girl flew forward, forcing the saffron-haired girl backwards, their auras of light clashing and converging, drawn together, pushed apart in a contest of divine wills. With a grunt of exertion, the AIDA-Goddess manages to push back the daughter of the Goddess of The World, who, unprepared is sent tumbling though the air, with shadow lances in pursuit.

In a flash, Zefie retreated, folding distance for an extra burst of speed, the shadow lances falling short of their intended victim as she released a multitude of energy shots that swarmed over them, neutralizing the threat they posed. But was the purpose merely to eliminate the spears of shadow?

Some overshot the mark and landed on the floor near the silver-haired girl, causing Lycoris a moment of concern, though she relax as none actually hit her. Seeing this, the AIDA-Goddess smirked to see her opponents sorrowful lack of accuracy—or so she thought, until each flared with a burst of light, revealing their true purpose: the creation of a multi-component circle of binding that held Lycoris fast, trapping her feet in place.

"You cannot stop me with such a thing!" the fallen Child of Twilight raged, eyes flashing as magical energy coursed through her body, discharging as lightning to eliminate the saffron-haired girl's custom enchantment in a mere matter of seconds.

But it was enough.

When Lycoris looked up, readying a barrage of shadows, it was too late…the opening was more than Zefie needed to enact the final phase of her plan. Seeing the Child of Dawn bring her hands together in front of her as the winds picked up, the fallen one instantly realized her intention—to draw upon her true nature for an attack of devastating power.

'_If that is so, there is only one way to oppose it…a strongest attack for a strongest attack!'_

Opening herself to the power of AIDA, black light oozed out of the Child of Twilight's form, shaping itself a summoning circle from which emerges the form of a great serpent, coiled around her, accompanied by a maelstrom of shadow and wind. An instantly recognizable symbol of a mythic Twilight of the Gods, it loomed large in the chamber as it solidified, roaring as it laid eyes on the Child of Dawn.

In the air, a pure white light built up as a scorching wind wrapped itself around and around Zefie's floating form, sending her hair and clothes in disarray as her true nature is revealed, a summoning circle of instant runes converging and spinning, bolstering the light of the artificial star as it reached the critical point, about to burst its binds.

"If you don't stop this nonsense, I won't hold back, Lycoris," the saffron-haired girl warned, the word of release on the tip of her tongue. "You may be who I was, but…"

The only answer she received was the true name of her enemy's greatest offensive weapon, as the great serpent of corrupted, poisoned light sprang towards her, brimming to the full with intent to destroy: "_**Jörmungandr!"**_

"_**Zephyrus Aurae - **__**Mjöllnir**__**!"**_ The daughter of Aura called out to counter the skill, invoking the true name of a power drawn from her fate, as a tornado of wind, water, and lighting was at last unsealed, streaking for the great, glowing Ouroboros.

The two lights in the cavern clash, visions of dusk and dawn contending for supremacy in an instant that lasts a small eternity!

Both figures shook with effort and exertion as they poured their willpower into this struggle which might be the deciding blow of the battle, with nothing saved for defense, nothing saved for a second. Neither can afford to hold anything back, as their greatest powers competed, warring with one another for dominance…if either pulled back now, she would be annihilated in an instant by a torrent of power that could destroy The World itself.

"Gi—gah!" Zefie screamed out, feeling an overwhelming amount of magical energy flowing up from within her to fuel the tornado of chaotic force, warding off the pain of breaking past her limits and contending with an alternate self fueled by the darkness of The World as a whole. It surged out from her, roiling out...but to no avail, as her ultimate technique was penetrated by the black lighting of the fallen one's Midgard Serpent. "AUGH!"

With a dull _skitter-thud, _the Child of Dawn was smashed against the wall of the cavern, her form writhing in pain from the tortures inflicted by the Serpent of Dusk, petite body jerking as she slid to the floor. She was deeply wounded, but still alive, watching gingerly as Lycoris walked over towards her and straddled her defenseless body to keep her from escaping, raising a blade made purely of AIDA to corrupt the Dawn as well.

"Lycoris…" she murmured, looking up in pity at the silver-haired girl who had defeated her, and even now was going to end her existence, as fit her role as Twilight. But there was no bitterness in her face as Zefie traced the cheek of her counterpart, giving the fallen one a soft, gentle smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you…I suppose I'll have to follow Mother's path…"

Down came the blade to pierce her heart, a violation that the Child of Dawn allowed. But as the cursed weapon made contact, the Child of Dawn dissolved into myriad bubbles of golden light, bubbles that converged upon the fallen Child of Twilight, erasing her corrupted incarnation from this plain of existence.

**

* * *

**

**Backtop City Megin Fi**

Above the Lost Ground of Coite-Bodher Battlefield, a lost isle floated, the place where in legend, humans had confronted and bound Mag Mell, the battle dragon of the gods, petrifying the divine beast at the cost of a hero's sacrifice. In the years since the end of that conflict, a city had been built atop Mag Mell's sealed form, an eternal shrine to the legends of the past. But this shrine has been corrupted by the presence of a fell darkness, one that tainted the lands and scattered all around a reddish phosphorescence—the color of rust and decay. The stagnant air was filled with the presence of death, floating above a sickly black mud surrounding a black and silver figure surveying his domain.

'_Hmm, what is this? The AIDA Mirages have been halted?' _he discovered, communing with the AIDA-collective and raising one elegant grey eyebrow. "_I see, so the Queen of the Dark and the fallen Morganna are both attempting to destroy my great army…well then, Mirages, destroy them. Destroy every trace they ever existed!'_

And then a bestial roar shook the city as the air above the main square shuddered, claws ripping through an invisible boundary layer as the twisted B-ST form of the Adept Rogue Skari emerged, his mane of blue-silver hair steaming behind him like the tendrils of spirits past, a flock of rifts in the fabric of space-time following as if enslaved to his soulless rage.

With twin swords in his hands unbound by sanity's shackles, his snarls were a wordless song of battle and madness, of powers unknown to death, nor known to life. Withstanding the pain of loss and utter desolation, he had forged his body into a blade, an instrument of vengeance, like an Alastor of old who could not be dissuaded from reaching his goal, even if in his wake was littered the corpses of the countless dead, devastation trailing him like hyenas having scented blood.

His only prayer, destruction, his only wish, revenge, he walked beneath the crimson sky, searching out his hated foe.

'_Heh…so he has given himself over to his madness,' _mused the Angel of Free Will and Alternatives, a mocking laugh flying from his lips, as he drifted down to the ground, twin fans drawn as he faced the impudent wretch who actually believed that the embodiment of all the evils of the world could be defeated.

"Ah, so the Dark Evangel rises," intoned the mocking one, summoning the shadows to him. "Welcome to your grave!"

"You," snarled the Dark Evangel, baring his teeth and leaping high to cleave in twain his foe with blades summoned forth by ancient rage—

—only to find himself swatted away by a raven's wing of congealed shadow, though in this form, he took no damage, simply using the momentum to land gracefully upon his feet, as he sprung at the AIDA-Angel again—and was again blocked, this time sent skidding by his foe's superior might.

"Foolish Alastor, put down your weapon," the shadowed creature spoke in a soft, entrancing voice, eyes ablaze with the purple of AIDA's corruption. "You and I both know that it is futile to continue this endless struggle, so why not surrender now, and know your final rest? It would, in the end, be the simplest solution…"

It is generally not a wise idea to taunt an angry beast, especially when said beast is fueled by the power of emotion.

All that the taunts did was empower Skari's B-ST form, as the Dark Evangel reached behind him with a yowl and a burst of light, summoning to his hands two broadswords: the ones called Deadly Fearblade, or "Certain Kill Ikari". And as he drew them, behind him opened a behemoth rift of static, from which emerged thousands of blades floating in the air.

With a blur of motion, the Dark Evangel slammed both broadswords forward, and all the weapons within that gate of twilight shot forth in a continuous stream of blades, snaking through the air as if seeking out the blood of Siarl of the Seven Eyes, who looked on at Skari's antics, greatly amused.

"Heh…is that all?" the AIDA-Angel sneered, bringing forward two wings formed of AIDA's power to protect his form in an imitation of Morganna's _**"Invincible Shield"**_

The tempest of blades slammed to the half-sphere of darkness with a burst of light, their incredible speed and momentum forced to a halt—and scattered, tossed into the air to rain down upon the battlefield, as the Angel pushed back by spreading his wings, turning the battlefield into a graveyard of swords.

Not to be deterred, Skari charged towards the form of Tabris with teeth bared in a feral grin, twin chainswords drawn and whirring, streaking forwards like a spear of certain kill as he brought down his weapons with enough force to pierce stone—hitting the ground as the Macabre Dancer jumped back nimbly, once, twice—then countered with a armored heel to the stomach, raking the tip of his war fan across the Dark Evangel's unarmored face, with another blow to the neck—

—blocked by the armored gauntlets of the raging beast, as it sprang aside, grabbing one of the many swords on the battlefield and shooting right for the AIDA-Angel—who smirked, smashing the illusion of this weak projection with his war fans and launching a thousand shafts of shadow towards the Adept Rogue.

"YAAARRRRR…!"Skari howled, his body glowing with molten light, a cloud of dust appearing as he vanished from sight—and reappeared right behind the Macabre Dancer, sword screaming for the grey-haired youth's neck—a blow met head on by twin war fans and a smirk as a wave of AIDA blasted into the Dark Evangel, sending him sprawling.

With the only thing in his mind the destruction of his foe, the Adept Rogue snatched up yet another set of blades and attacked head on, this time emphasizing speed instead of power, since the enemy had proven an equal in strength.

_Crash! Clang! Clash! Crack!_

Metallic cacophony reverberated through the streets, as Dark Evangel and AIDA-Angel faced off in a duel to the death, the sounds of their exertions echoing off the granite bulwarks of the city in a syncopated staccato. As if a force of the chilling north wind, Skari danced, whirling about, thrusting, parrying, riposting, his long, braided blue hair swished around him, the only extravagance he allowed himself in an otherwise perfect economy of motion.

Unfortunately, his opponent, last of the Angels, was no slouch in combat himself, cutting air and countering with the speed of thought, sparks flying above the soiled battleground as the two rushed at each other one final time, weapons held high…as Siarl shot a stream of AIDA lances forward again, forcing the Dark Evangel to block—and leave an opening for his brutal assault.

An explosion of power, and Skari lost his left arm to his enemy.

"Are you ready to give up yet?" the AIDA-Angel mocked, standing away from him, weapons ready for a mercy killing. "Do you see what the result of this battle is? You've lost an arm, you cannot possibly hope to…"

He was cut off by the sound of armor on stone, as the implacable man dashed towards his foe, hatred on his features.

"I still have my right!" B-ST form Skari snarled, sword raised in defiance. "DIEEEEEEE!"

"Foolish Lilim_**," **_the AIDA-Angel voiced as he regarded this ridiculous spectacle, sidestepping the attack and uttering a word of release. "_**Nevermore."**_

An absolute darkness shot out from the Angel's hands, instantly surrounding Skari with a canopy of shadowy wings, a world of death swallowing up the reality around him. He raged and shook and yowled, drawing on all the emotions he could—but in the end, there was no escape, as AIDA consumed him from without and within, destroying B-ST form and reaching inwards to his core.

"Corrupt him well, dear AIDA," the victor quipped, his trademark smirk in place. "Destroy his mind and twist him into a true instrument of destruction. Let him become an avatar of finality that I will use to hasten the end of this world. It has been a joy to expunge the last of this world's light, to watch the last defender of the Usurper's children fall. And now…at last I will destroy those meddlesome abominations of Twilight, beginning with the Goddess spawned by man."

With that, the AIDA-Angel vanished, heading back to the Creator's Room to complete the forbidden ritual, one that would lead to his own ascension as a God of the World, surpassing all others as he crushed the Lilim under his heel.

'_The sacrifice should have by now been made, and the daughter of Aura defeated. And with that...The World…is mine.'_

* * *

**Outer Dungeon**

"_**Drain Heart," **_a magus spoke imperiously, lifting her hands in the air and loosing numerous data drain connector arrows into the air towards the mirages of shadow clustered around her, the terrible light of a Goddess' wrath blasting out from her as the world inverted, lashes of data scything through another fraction of the horde like a blade through a field of wheat, erasing them all from existence.

'_It is an irony, how I, who was once the Cursed Wave, must now stand against a wave myself…but I think it time to unseal my greater powers…'_

Her skill had carved a hollow into the enemy's ranks, giving the former Goddess of Dusk enough time to summon her greater form.

"Come forth by my will…Aberrant Key!" she intoned, her body instantly encrusted by a glowing patterns of runes and eyes, power made manifest as a great flare of light arose and filled the surrounding space, condensing, coalescing into the winged form of a red and gold mechanical angel of battle, the false Epitaph modeled on Tarvos. "Let us go, as we take our final flight!"

With that, she took to the air, spreading her wings to full extension as she faced down enemies as endless and relentless as the sea itself, opening a new dimension to the fight.

'_Like the raven above the battlefield, I am the Morrígan, mistress of sovereignty, prophecy, war, and death…let us see how our enemies enjoy being on the losing end of aerial superiority!'_

With a cry of _**"Orb of Revenge!"**_, she flung shaped charges of power out onto the horde surrounding her, blasting their bodies to bits with her power even as more kept coming on, some adapting and evolving as they considered the new threat to their lives, evolving wings to take on this aerial combatant, as several _AIDA(Oswald)s_ burst onto the scene, each unleashing an "_**Arachno Trap"**_, sticky streams of webbing that ensnared the _False Avatar—_

—or would have, had not an orb of smoky light drifted out from the wall of the Outer Dungeon, floating into the midst of the _AIDA(Oswald)s _and breaking open, with the last of the Eyes of Helba emerging, dressed in a blue and white formal kimono, hair uncased, flowing like water cascading over cliffs down her back as her war fans rent the web, setting Morganna free.

"MAGI Balthasar reporting, Phantom Queen…mission complete," the Macabre Dancer spoke, code fragments evaporating from her cybernetic shell as if she was being consumed from within. She had survived the onslaught of the AIDA-Mirages in the Operations Folder, but had been gravely wounded in the process. "Damage received is beyond regeneration limit."

"I can stabilize—"

"Negative, time is insufficient," the last of the Obsidian Knights reported impassively, her blades whirling in cyclone of destruction as a strange tattoo of sorts took hold of her body, and the outside of her character began to crack open. "Continue combat…I will take care of these!"

Morganna had no choice to comply, as the AIDA mirages below shot lances of shadow towards her position, forcing her to nullify them with arrows of light, as the black magic floated in the sky as if reigning over the heavens.

Behind her, Balthasar crossed her fans before her as the _AIDA(Oswald)s_ screamed towards her, a last glint of defiance in her eyes as they attacked with tendrils of shadow, breaking her form—and unsealing the anti-AIDA virus hidden within, the source of her power.

"It is finished," murmured the Knight, as her body splintered to pieces, the binds of code released. "Nullifying _AIDA(Oswald)_ data link now, radius set. Final activation Omega. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee."

For a few seconds, nothing happened—then all of the _AIDA(Oswald)s_ froze as if petrified, crumbling away into nothingness, a shockwave clearing the sky and giving Morganna aerial superiority once more.

'_No time to mourn, for the enemy is relentless and will not allow any hesitation…'_

"_**Disaster Sword**_!" a swordswoman murmured, clutching twin katanas in hand as she executed a circular slash, driving back several ranks of the infinite host. Her opponents might be quicker and stronger (though smarter was doubtful), but like the berserkers of old, she did not care, merely becoming an extension of her sword.

_Swish! Crunch!_

Helba ducked low to avoid a blow aimed at her temple, but her closest opponent anticipated this, swinging the butt of its weapon upwards to disarm her—though the Queen of the Dark managed to shift her weight enough that the foe merely grazed her shoulder, while she impaled its chest.

Swords of ice and fire cleaved like a blazing light through shadow, seemingly moving on their own as the enemy finally resorted to the use of magic, as collateral damage became acceptable when a foe was so powerful that mere melee combat would not be enough.

Collectively, they summoned a barrage of spells, wind blades, ice spears, boulders and fireballs flying in waves towards the Queen of the Dark, only for these magics to be instantly absorbed by her swords, empowering them.

But still the foes came onwards, the demise of the low level mirages having cleared the way for a number of swarthy giants with adamantine skin and immense strength, mad warriors formed by AIDA capable of causing massive destruction with a single swing of their weapons. These giants trample forward, screaming with an explosive intensity that the earth itself might shake, their every ability increasing as they draw power from the darkness.

'_Can I oppose them? No, not can I…I will…'_

With a burst of speed, Helba shot forward, blades gleaming with silver light as she runs right for the berserkers, attacking as if to stop an oncoming meteor.

The two sides clash without ceasing, one being standing against the many, the giants' movements overwhelming, attacking with the power of the storm that gripped the world. Downward slashes like the power of a waterfall, horizontal slashes like a raging cyclone—against these blows, Helba defends with all her might, for if she doesn't, it will be her end.

Blows without pause, a streak of red against an overwhelming wave of leaden grey. Their strengths, speeds, rangers are different—for now, the only thing that Helba can do is to smash her swords into those of the enemies and stop them from slashing her with her own strength.

One could say that this was a battle between a drill and a wall, with merciless foes approaching in all directions, intending to pierce—no, to shred the lone defender of The World. A normal human could not oppose such a thing, only able to run…if indeed running was possible. But the Queen of the Dark places herself within the cage of blades and trades blows toe to toe with the giants, refusing to give ground, refusing to retreat.

Sparks flew as blades of fire and ice crashed into shadow, their wielder defying death once and again, knowing well enough the disparities in her strength and those of her enemies, yet betting on a chance of victory with a great violence surpassing human possibilities. Defending until an opening appeared, then seizing it with a final blow - that was her only chance.

It was a dazzling battle, but could the Mistress of Net Slum prevail in a land that is not her own?

"GYYAA!" a roar shakes the earth, as one of the AIDA giants charges, weapon catching an already overstrained Helba in the side and flinging her to the ground, chipping at the protection programs woven into her character. Still, she gets back up, a typhoon to match the raging cyclone, charging forward without falling to her knees, without submitting.

Another slash, and yet another…two swords repelling blow after blow, though her body has begun to show the signs of strain, the sheer force of her opponent's attacks driving her back, threatening to destroy her with each strike. It is only with the utmost skill that she receives only glancing cuts and scrapes that erode her data protection, instead of destroying it outright…

A sword was raised to block high, but a rampaging giant smashed her in the gut and Helba was tossed aside like a leaf into the wall of the Outer Dungeon. Still, she was not yet beaten, so concentrating what strength she has left into her fingers, she gets up yet again, facing the oncoming horde like a rock jutting out against the pounding surf.

"Heh, just as I thought," she noted, a hint of a smile on her face as she stands a small distance from the horde. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come at me!"

The thunder of their footsteps draws nearer as they come all at once to kill off the annoying nuisance, intending to destroy the great thorn in their Master's side at last.

This time though, Helba did not charge forward, did not retreat, remaining perfectly still save for her arms, and…four words falling from her lips:

"_**Divine Awakening: Tsubame Gaeshi!"**_

With those words, a battle aura flared into existence around the hacker queen, her swords of beginning and end unsealing themselves into their true form as they moved with a life of their own, striking down, up, down from the rear and then up at an angle, like eagle climbing again after swooping down on its prey in an unavoidable attack.

Undaunted, they surround her—only to learn the sheer folly of their move as they fall, one or two with each blow, all of their vaunted power useless before the technique Helba employs, shattering their physical vessels. With a flash of gold, twin swords tear through the weapons of the enemy, through their protections, into their bodies, purging them from existence.

Inspired by Sasaki Kojirō's legendary technique, it had been empowered beyond anything possible in the world of the shadowed ones, almost to the level of sorcery, for whatever else Helba was, she was an immensely powerful sorcerer queen.

The advantage hers once again, the Queen of the Dark attacks, accepting no deviation or compromise other than complete and utter victory.

* * *

**Backtop City Megin Fi**

'_Is this it?' _Skari thought to himself as sanity returned to his eyes. _'After everything…Siarl was that powerful? Was I doomed to lose from the beginning?'_

He was floating in an infinite expanse of black, bound by chains of shadow and unable to move, as his memories were being forcefully dredged up and replayed before his eyes, with all of his failures, all his mistakes, all his missteps being shown for his viewing pleasure, as a softly mocking voice spoke to him from the shadows.

"Pathetic," the voice purred from all around. "You are indeed a self-deceiver, thinking that you as a mortal possessed a chance at defeating me. The former goddess Morganna could not do it, Tri-Edge could not do it, even Helba could not…so what made you think that you could win, even with the power of your B-ST form?"

"I—" the Adept Rogue began, but Siarl would not let him finish his statement.

"Such a foolish mortal you are, thinking that you could win just because others call you the 'Invincible Shinji' and praise you, depending on you!" the AIDA-Angel's voice continued. "But in the end, you cannot save anyone, not even your dear precious Lycoris, not even Ayanami, who I killed, not Tomoyami, not even yourself. You made a promise to see things through to the end, but look where you are now…a failure, as you always have been, Shinji Ikari."

The voice laughed, a dark and hollow sound that sent chills up the Dark Evangel's spine, and though he wished to respond, a vast psychic force prevented him from speaking.

"The Dark Evangel, they call you, the messenger of darkness," Siarl taunted, reflecting on the 'achievements' of the Third Child. "Well in that case, this is certainly a worthy fate for you, one you cannot oppose, for in the end, I will make you a messenger of darkness, the harbinger of the end. Incidentally, have you not been hurt enough by others as it is, you whose heart is fragile, like glass?"

The AIDA-Angel made a simple flick of his wrist, and suddenly, Skari found that he could at least talk, if not move.

"Would you not prefer a world where no one else exists, where no one else could harm you?" the final Angel asked of the Third. "You who were bound by fear and pain, you have the chance to be set free of such things, if you will only give into your fate. That is the world I will usher in, a world without boundaries, a world without fear, where there are no more secrets, no more lies. So what say you, dear Lilim? Why don't you stop this willful resistance to the inevitable, knowing you have no chance at victory? You see…this world is already doomed to end…"

Despite the pain the Dark Evangel was feeling, he still found the inner strength to focus a glare at the AIDA-Angel who had trapped him in this world of darkness. This demon who had hurt so many people, who had manipulated and used his friends, who wanted to end the world had the nerve to tell him that what he was doing was futile?

"Why…don't you just shut up, asshole?" he shot back with more than a little exasperation. "Acting like you have the right to judge, to condemn others for their sins when you don't even consider your own? Saying things like this world is doomed, when you are the one who wants to destroy it? Just who in the hell do you think you are?"

Raising a thin eyebrow, Siarl frowned, showing dissatisfaction for once. This particular Lilim was definitely not worth his personal attention and time, as the mindset was incompatible—so the only thing to do was to use his most dreaded technique.

"And what sins are mine, dear Lilim?" the floating mage of black and silver asked with a smirk. "I have only ever shown others what must be, allowing them to accept the consequences of fate, of the entropic spiral of oblivion. Everything you know is already at an end, for as you should know, Lilim, no mortal can withstand my power and live, for I embody all the evils of the world. Drown in your ideals and die."

Without another word, the AIDA Angel releases from his hands an unfathomable darkness, a swarm of grain-sized curses that eats into the Dark Evangel without mercy, tearing into his mind, his soul, his very being, as hell is printed on his brain.

'_**DIE'**__, _it commanded. _'Traitor to humanity, killer, son of a murderer. Selfish selfish selfish…begrudging, jealous, thief of love, thief of hope, thief thief thief, theft of glory, mud darkness malice, creeping in hearts_, _elimination of human rights by castration, exile, execution, atone, atone, atone with death and __**DIE.'**_

"No, I won't die…"

'_**DIE**__. Lecher, liar, libidinous fool. Pervert scum scorned by friend, scorned by enemies, lustful desires calling out to VIOLATE the minds of others, breaking breaking breaking heart, breaking bodies, subjugating manipulation imprisonment, crimes of grudge, crimes of self-interest, unconscious crime, self-conscious crime, inducement, theft, suicide, rape, arson, violation, negligent homicide, mass violence, death at work, overconfident accident. __**DIE**__'_

"No…I will not…"

"_**DIE. **__Submit submit submit, concealing mortal lechery, concealing BASE DESIRE, GREED, AVARICE, seven sins of ENVY, responsible for MURDER, tortured killings, tortured friends, no chance, no choice, no possibilities for freedom, screaming, raging, trapped in irons, impure impure impure, as failure on the path of SELF-DESTRUCTION, unable to comply or __**DIE.'**_

"No chance at victory…then I'll make one. If do not have what it takes to win, I will simply imagine it…because…"

'_**DIE DIE DIE. **__Failure failure failure, you are failure, failure to friends, failure to family, failure to self. Pissant peeved peasant trodden on the path, vermin of unusual girth, virus to the world. KILLING leeching warmth, the scapegoat, crushed underfoot, malignancy, cancer to be excised in VIOLATION. Unwanted child, dreaming nightmares, dreaming nightmares, dreaming nightmares of one's eternal fate._ _**DIE.**_'

"Dreams…" the Dark Evangel croaked out. "Piros said that those who wish for happiness must have a dream…that they are as important as the universe."

'_**DIE**_. _Dirty, you are dirty, you are impure and must be cleansed, you must ATONE ATONE ATONE for every crime of man every victim every perpetrator of human treachery. Shadenfreude, delight in others suffering, taking opportunities meant for others, taking lives and taking risks, reveling in excess as a million souls cry out in VIOLATION, resigned to their fate. Ruled by the inhuman, no conscience, grudge, fraud, kindness a lie, hope a lie, all things a lie, malignance shines bright, a great evil, the only truth. __**DIE DIE.**_'

The curse eating at what little of his body and mind remained, stealing away what fragments of resistance he has left, seeping in through all five senses to show him ugliness in himself and humanity he cannot acknowledge, crimes he wants to run away from, every crime, every evil of all those within The World, condemning him to death from pain and self hatred.

But still…

...his right arm remained, protected by a certain bracelet, a power granted to him by his lover at the moment she was struck down.

"Fate…that's right…Lycoris entrusted me with her fate…and if I don't win, if I don't save her, she'll be angry at me, because I will have failed. Helba has gone to stop an army to give me a chance to take down Siarl. Ovan…gave me a gift, that he said I would know when to use. I promised I would see things through to the end. And that is why…I WILL NOT LOSE TO THIS CURSE!"

He knew that if he fought he would probably die—but he accepted it, because what could he put on the line if not his life? From the very beginning, he had nothing else but…_but a dream._

Warmth returned to his body, force of will flowing through his form as he raises his right arm and unseals his Twilight Bracelet, the hexagonal sepals of power shaping itself before him as he invokes the holiest of skills.

"_**DATA DRAIN!"**_

A shocking blast of power erupted from within, tearing apart the dense black mass of AIDA from within, as Skari leapt desperately out of the dense black mud, his throat burning like he was swallowing numerous pieces of glass with each breath.

"All the evils of the world? I can't lose to them," he muttered, as his body was enveloped in azure rings of light. "Everyone is counting on me—Lycoris, Skadi, Helba, Tomoyami, even Morganna—I can't let them down!"

**

* * *

**

**The Creator's Room**

As if conducting an orchestra, Siarl stood before the great magic circle in the cavern of the room, waving his hands as he surveyed the damage done by the conflict between the two Goddess of Dusk and Dawn. By now, the corruption has spread throughout the former holy place, the knowledge and power therein swallowed up by a sea of black tar surrounding a great vortex of shadow, empowered by both the will of AIDA and the sacrificed might of a fallen Goddess. The altar of the beginning, and the altar of what would soon be the end.

'_So it appears that the Children of Dusk and Dawn destroyed one another…ah, very well then, victory is still assuredly mine, especially with the meddlesome avatar of wind out of the way.'_

He laughed, but there was no one to hear him in this space, this location of power that was in effect the gate of Ouroboros, from where the great serpent of darkness born of man would emerge to ensnare all souls in existence, harnessing the power of the sleeping Goddess herself to destroy the world she loved.

But his laughter came to an abrupt halt at the sound of a gate-in, as azure rings of light shimmered and faded, depositing an extremely battered but otherwise intact Dark Evangel before him, shaking with defiance.

'_He broke free of AIDA? But…how?'_

"What? Impossible, you managed to shake it off the corruption of AIDA's core?" he asked in a near whisper, before his flicker of surprise was suppressed, his expression smoothing as it returned to his normally sinister disposition, the figure spreading his arms in sarcastic welcome. "Heh, well, it is only a matter of time before you die, and it is good to have a witness to the end of all hope. Preservation is no more, for ruin shall prevail…"

'_The distance between us…15 meters or so…he won't let me close in, I'm sure…' _thought Skari, analyzing all the possible routes of attack.

"You are ruin, perhaps, but in becoming anti-existence, you have forged your own chains, become your limit," the Dark Evangel replied, his form shrouded by the tattered grey cloak he had worn since the very beginning, as he charged, the dagger _Lit Honeysuckle_ in his surviving hand.

At this, Siarl sniffed, turning up his nose and summoning another clump of darkness to his hand.

"Fool, I admit myself surprised by you," the AIDA-Angel noted smugly, tracking the Adept Rogue's approach with his eyes. "You have come to face me, even though it is hopeless, escaping just to die again? Well then, before you die know this: there is no point in attempting to defeat me, as all those you care about are assuredly already dead, and stopping me will not bring them back. Not even your lover, the late AIDA-Goddess Lycoris…in fact, you can follow her to your grave. _**Nevermore!"**_

A blinding wave of darkness is released from Siarl's hands, immobilizing Skari, and melting the Adept Rogue's body from the outside in, threatening to destroy him utterly.

'_No…he's lying, Lycoris isn't dead,' _the Dark Evangel convinced himself. 'A_nd that's why… that was his biggest mistake. Because the Twilight Bracelet still exists on my right arm…the proof that she still exists too. Zefie must have freed her, meaning that she will be headed here now…and if I don't wipe the floor with Siarl, she'll be angry at me for giving up. Because she trusted me to win…that's why she took the blow for me.'_

It was a raging wind, this curse that distorted space-time itself, that seared and burned all that it touched, twisting, eroding, tearing. His armor screamed out as it endures the assault, cracks running through the form that had given him shape, protected him until now. His legs were about to give their last, but standing defiantly, he did not accept death—at least not without completing his role. Perhaps he would die in the end, perhaps everything he was done truly had no meaning, but Skari doesn't care, for all his hesitations disappeared at the remembrance of a name.

'_Siarl, I will defeat you now, to fulfill my promise,' _he resolved, reaching deep inside of him for strength as he confronts the curse head on, rejecting the pain, rejecting this abomination with all of his might. _'But you're right about one thing…there is no way for a mere human to resist the pollution…'_

His hand reaches behind him as if to grab something, but the shadows crept in, and despite his heroic efforts—

"…_Bring back…Lost…Shinji-kun…I love…"_

That voice. Why does he remember it? At the instant he heard it from deep within his memory, everything reversed, everything changed. What was it he had to do? Create the chance of victory? Accept fate—yes, but not his own.

_'Her fate...the fate she entrusted to me alone._'

Scything like a tornado through a wheat-field, the mind accelerated, crackled, tossed off a world's corruption from sheer force of will…

_**I am the soul of a dream…**_

If his enemy drew upon the nightmares of those within The World to strike at emotion, drew upon the winds of despair, he would draw upon them too, and gain strength from his foe's attacks. If the darkness destroyed both space and time—he would simply have to transcend space and time, consume his emotions, and surpass his limits!

…_**fire runs through my veins and the void of my heart...**_

Thinking back to what the wielder of Corbenik said about borrowed time and a fragment of will, he summons what he sought, the gunblade called Coming Reincarnation. For the first time, it responded to his call, its form appearing in his hands as a weapon wreathed in azure flame, a shifting weapon crafted of flowing silver lines, of the all the intangible things that had come before…emotions, fates, choices, wills…a sword that sang of death, yes, but also of a world beyond.

…_**Undefeated on the hill of corpses, never running away…**_

Fate and dreams…were they not the most powerful fragments of a goddess? And when fused with the AIDA he stored within him, the highly evolved form of Victorian, the conqueror…

…_**Without being acknowledged or ever understood…**_

There was no need to give in, although Siarl was right about his level of power - if he was truly alone, that was. Because he wasn't fighting alone, wasn't fighting hopelessly. Embedded in the core of his being is the ultimate fate of the Child of Twilight, the reason he had been capable of ridiculously powerful things like B-ST form in the first place—because of this, she lived on—in him.

…_**Always alone, knowing only desolation…**_

The state that so many had tried to manipulate him into over the years before he had come to Tokyo-3, with all those he had fought against. The state he had feared in his dreams, and what Siarl had pushed him into knowing now. The state that he would free himself from, so that no one else would be hurt.

'_I will bring them back…no matter what, I will see this promise through!'_

…_**Without meaning, spurning fate…**_

'_Who the hell do I think I am? I am myself…and I believe in those who believe in me!'_

He recalled his words to a doubting shadow long ago within his mind, one he had been forced to face after a great tragedy. And he recalled too the words of the shadow unto him.

_...**Walking the path between nightfall and daybreak...**_

'_Take the power of the Shadow alongside the power of light, and with those in your hands, forge the miracle you seek.'_

Darkness and light as one…dusk and dawn…

**…_from the beginning...the _**_****__**Harbinger of Twilight!**_

As he grabbed hold of the bayonet _Coming Reincarnation, _the Twilight Bracelet reacted once again, the world changing completely. All darkness within and without was blown away, dispersed by a golden light—the Dark Evangel emerging from within, his form blazing with the unsealed power of a divine mystery.

"Wh—at?" the AIDA-Angel said, eyes wide in shock. "No...that's...that's...the power of a goddess…? Just who are you?"

There was no reason to be surprised, as the will of the goddess protected its chosen one. From the beginning, it had the ability to bring either salvation or destruction at the hands of the user...this was salvation. The embodiment of memories and the dreams of The World cannot lose to mere nightmares—for nightmare too are dreams, and but a fraction thereof!

At the moment he is released from the darkness, Skari runs, gunblade raised for a killing blow, his speed like that of a meteor plummeting to earth.

"Kaworu Nagisa!" he roared, almost flying across the ground as he rushed at his foe.

'_No!'_

Feeling fear for the first time, the grey-haired youth raised his AT Field and pulls away up into the air, knowing he had to end this quickly, before any other unexpected occurrences manifested themselves, any other tricks of the Twilight Goddess. With a flash, four wings of light erupted from the back of his character as his figure was set aglow, drawing lines of power from all through The World and the AIDA collective as the shadows swirled around him.

"_**Final Judgment!"**_

Space and time themselves distorted, as a massive shaft of power came smashing down with a roar, an attack that reversed cause and effect, that cannot be avoided and will never miss, the destructive will of the First Angel taken form and focused in an alien world, sundering the foundations of reality itself to destroy anything it was targeted against.

Without giving the Dark Evangel any time to react, the attack struck true—and was somehow warped around him, as the figure of Skari leapt into the air, lunging at Siarl, gunblade first, the attack parting to let him through.

_'What kind of defense...?'_

But it was not a defense-or at least, the power around him did not merely defend. Rather, the attack was ignored, rendered ineffectual by a barrier enforced by the will of all those who have suffered, all those who have ever wished for a better world, keeping out the filth of malice and darkness. A complete world of the memories of the past and the unreachable dreams of the future, separate from this one the sea of data, an absolute defense once employed by the Goddess herself.

The greatest protection in all The World, which cannot be infringed upon even by the power of AIDA, who only two had ever wielded: what the dothackers had once known as Morganna's _**Supreme Defense. **_Hidden as the Lost Weapon of the blessed body Corbenik, the Bayonet named _Coming Reincarnation_, it called upon dreams and fate alike to dispel any malevolent power that touched it, rendering its bearer completely invulnerable to anything except to another full goddess.

"But how—?"

Tabris sees the death streaking towards him in the air, as the tattered figure of the Dark Evangel blazed through the cavern, pushing through his ultimate attack and slamming the tip of his weapon into the AT-Field, using the remaining power of _**Supreme Defense**_ to negate it.

Frantically, he tried to block, to redouble the power he was channeling to break his foe's protection and vaporize the figure charging towards him.

But it was too late-he had overestimated his ability in his hubris, while Skari from the beginning had not spared even a moment to think about such things—a resulting shock of the unexpected lasted only an instant, but it was an instant that decided the outcome.

_Squelch!_

With a savage thrust, the gunblade bearing the hopes and wishes of The World was plunged into the chest of the AIDA-Angel, punched into his heart with a cry.

"_**Etaf fo lasrever: Vivid Purification!**_"

As the technique within was invoked, the flowing lines of the gunblade blazed with power, concentrating the attack of an Epitaph's final form into a single point, the power of the divine dispelling the protection of a lesser being. And without giving Siarl the chance to respond—

"_**DRAIN HEART!**_"

The holy power of the Bracelet lanced out, its rays digging into the Macabre Dancer like a thousand sharpened hooks, ripping, tearing, pulling his form apart even as he shook and thrashed and writhed in agony, at the experience of pain great enough to drive him mad, the pain of every cell in his body melting, nerves fraying, body burning burning burning...

"No...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A bestial howl of torment echoed for many moments as the Dark Evangel kept up the full power of his most deadly technique, mercilessly destroying the mind and soul of Macabre Dancer for good, tearing apart both the AIDA inside him, and the base character underneath, straining to maintain concentration-until at last, with a flash of light and a soul-rending scream, the Angel of Free Will's form crumbled away to nothing, a look of strangled horror the last expression the Angel would make in the world.

In the wake of this effort Skari collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. The battle had cost him dearly, and already, he was near fatally wounded...and yet, it was not over.

For the vortex of power and corruption born of AIDA that Siarl had summoned still remained, in the form of a great portal to void that if left unchecked would infect the entire World, and from there, the global network, affecting all those who were linked to it, meaning that his struggles, his triumph, would have all been in vain. It seemed that even after losing the hosts that had empowered it, the shadow had not disappeared, having grown too large, having been infused with too much power to fade...

'_The geas on all living things is to continue to live…'_

This was as true for AIDA as it was for humanity, and as long as this corrupted altar of beginnings continued to exist, the end of all things would come about as surely as if Siarl had ordered it himself—something that Skari could not abide, not after all he had done, had sacrificed to reach this point. His body was weary, both from the overuse of Data Drain and from the damage inflicted upon it earlier by the AIDA-Angel, but what of it?

"I guess I'll have to destroy it," the Adept Rogue muttered to himself, eying the heart of the storm while his resolve-and what was left of his strength-remained. "I'll have to destroy this place and the shadow along with it for the Lost to be saved."

Was it even possible to do so? Yes, there was a way—entering the writhing heart of the vortex to face the heart of all the evils of mankind, and there collapsing the vortex in upon itself using the ultimate ability of the Twilight Bracelet. But to enter the pillar of black fire would be to die, as Skari wasn't sure that even a goddess could withstand the power within that great circle, as it had been created to destroy Aura, after all, and Aura was the Goddess of The World, one who was nearly all-powerful.

And even if he were able to endure the heart of evil, a mere sample of which he had survived in his confrontation with Siarl, only one skill he knew of was capable of such a feat—_**Drain Heart**_, a skill that if used on such a level would likely destroy him as well.

'_But…I vowed to see things through to the end, to bring them all back, and if I need to die to accomplish a miracle, so be it—I'm living on borrowed time anyway.'_

His breathing stopped for a moment as he gathered his wits and started walking towards the immense maelstrom of darkness.

_Clip-clop-clip-clop_ echoed his footsteps in an empty chamber where the winds of plague still roared, each movement one that took the utmost effort. At the boundary he paused, knowing there was no going back, then continued, letting the whispers of AIDA wash over him, melt his body, melt his mind—both already dying from all the damage incurred.

Images flashed through his mind, memories of happier times and sadder, the words of his friends, chance meetings, and things left undone, flashing back to all that he had done in his life, and all he had met.

'_Literally running into Reimeiki-chan so long ago, Rei's smile after the battle against the Fifth Angel, going through the Inverted Castle with both of them, my time as a dothacker…I guess, in the end, its worth it.'_

And then these too were snatched away, as the oppressive chaos of malice and despair bore down upon him, heart about to break from pain, fatigue, and emptiness.

One last step and he arrived at the heart of the AIDA gate, raising his arm as the gathered powers of darkness melted away his form.

"_**Drain Heart.**_"

From his cracked lips issued two soft words, and a wave of golden light surged across the global network.

* * *

**NERV Medical**

He leaned against the wall of a room in NERV Medical, the one housing a certain grey-haired youth, with the battered form of the Fourth Child lying on the sole bed, chest rising and falling as he slept on, though his mind was in The World.

'_So this is why Helba—Maya, rather, wanted me alive…she doesn't like firearms herself, after all. Amusing that the last of the Angels should be eliminated without an Evangelion, as was the first, long ago.'_

In the quiet, a single shot rang out, and Kaworu Nagisa was no more.

**

* * *

**

**Outer Dungeon**

In a flash, the remaining AIDA mirages vanished, and Morganna dispelled her incantation in mid-cast as a wave of golden light surged across the network, cleansing it of the subtle infection of AIDA that had come as a result of Siarl's machinations. The power of Twilight (Daybreak) had been used to counter the corruption of Dusk, and once again, The World was at peace.

'_The storm has passed_, _it seems,_' the former Goddess mused, standing down from her Avatar form. '_And without the great inhuman minds of the AIDA-Angels directing it, AIDA is now not the threat it once was. As for Ovan…he will be back, since _Avatar Corbenik _ in truth has three forms, and only the first was obliterated. One day, he will be set free, but it will not be today…'_

With a sigh, Morganna looked up to note that the roof of the Outer Dungeon cracked open, revealing the sky above, as the boundary of The World spread outwards once again, with the tempest outside reduced to a mere drizzle.

_Clatter-clatter-thud!_

Behind her, the battered, broken body of the Queen of the Dark collapsed, dropping her swords and slumping to the ground in the aftermath of the battle against the AIDA mirages. Her robes were tattered, and she lay there unseeing, her eyes clouded over as her breaths came in ragged gasps. Seeing her companion in such a state, Morganna rushed to her side, kneeling down and casting a recovery spell on her, but to no avail, as Helba gently shook her head.

"It's no use…this isn't damage that a spell can heal, more the pity," she noted quietly, the air shuddering out of her as she approached the end. "Did we win, my dear enemy?"

With a sad smile, Morganna squeezed the Dark Queen's hand, finding to her dismay that it was cold and could barely squeeze back.

"We did…" she murmured, barely loud enough for her companion to hear.

"I'm glad…" Helba spoke, her eyes closing and her body going limp. Though she had stood her ground and fought to her last in the great struggle, there had been too much damage done to her mind and soul for her to completely recover. "I am glad we had the chance to meet, dear Goddess of the Dusk. You were ever a worthy opponent…but in the end, there is one thing I must tell you…"

There was moisture on Morganna's cheek, but was she crying, or was it merely the rain pitter-pattering down from the sky.

"…what is it?"

With the last of her strength, Helba turned to face Morganna, raising a hand to the goddess' cheek.

"Only that…I love you," she croaked with a smile.

At that, Morganna leaned over and gave the Queen of the Dark a tender last kiss, as her body disappeared into a cloud of light, leaving no trace of her behind.

"Goodbye then…my once and future Queen. I suspect that one day…we will meet again"

Dawn was in the distance, the horizon shining in gleaming gold, like the fields where a girl in red once laughed and played.

* * *

**The Creator's Room**

Collapsed on the ground, body half faded with patches of static here and there, Skari could see the pure white expanse of the Creator's Room again, with Siarl's aims and goals completely thwarted. Knowing this, he half smiled, or would have, had there been any energy left in his body, any power at all after what he had done.

'_The AIDA-Angel called me the Harbinger of the End…but Twilight is not necessarily the end. Dusk or dawn, ending or beginning…he was the 'free man' who chose the path of fate, and I, the free one who defeated him by embracing another's fate.'_

The Adept Rogue swallowed, knowing that end was near. With a trace of amusement, he noted the presence of a small flicker of light, as the Twilight Bracelet detached itself from his arm, floating up into the air, where it was joined by an orb of red and the weave of lines in his robes, both reshaping themselves into a red spider lily.

In the pale white glow of the room, he can see the flower floating above him, drifting off to the side, where it is plucked out of the air by a silver-haired girl dressed all in white, a curiously familiar figure looking at him with soft golden eyes.

'_Reimeiki-chan…'_

She walked over to the Dark Evangel and knelt down beside him, her gaze boring into his crimson eyes as she cupped his cheek.

"The stars fall out of the sky, space closes up into nothingness," the mysterious waif murmured into his ear, words for him alone to hear. "The pathway to the origin is now gone, the texts of old no longer valid, the final wave has passed. You have led the new gods to their twilight, through darkness to the dawn. Set free of the pain you have carried for so long, rest now my knight…my Dark Evangel, Ecchi-kun."

"Reimeiki—" he whispered, but could not continue, for the silver-haired girl silenced him with a kiss, one that lasted until his strength gave out, and at long last, he closed his eyes.

"You were right, by the way…there is no such thing as a voice that cannot reach someone."

The last thing he saw was a smile he would remember to the end of eternity…


	67. Login 26: Critical Mass

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Critical Mass**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Dusk**

They came in rapid succession, images unfolding one upon another without relenting, without remorse. Somewhere in the vast expanse of twilight, a mind boiled, raced, projected, serving as a spectator to the outside world as the core of a vast and alien consciousness awakened, with will relinquished to another. Memories, dreams, hopes, fears—all collided, all colluded, joined as one in the end as in the beginning.

_The flapping of white wings. Screams. The Tree of Sephiroth made of EVAs. Shouts. Gunshots, wailing, pandemonium. Panic, a giant of light, a great orb of souls, a wave of destruction, lingering affection, choices yet to be made._

The siren song of nothingness lulls the prickly hedgehogs of the world to sleep, as souls return to the ancient cradle of the black moon, leaving their frail mortal vessels behind to return at last to void. Sorcery of a sort, one might say, using the stored energies of billion of human consciousnesses to grant a wish of divinity—the Holy Grail for which both Ikari and SEELE had strove, even going so far as to create Angel-Human hybrids as homunculi of sorts, beings ever intended to die to open the gate to the Origin, bringing about the end of frail humanity and the beginning of something else.

This was the truth of the innocuous sounding Human Instrumentality Project, a truth that seekers such as Ryoji Kaji and Misato Katsuragi discovered all too late.

_A figure crushed by a fallen mask, as a giant temptress walks. A two pronged lance hurtling from the heavens to join with a half awakened god. Chaos, blood, the end is nigh. Strings. Instruments. Cello, Violin, Viola. Distinct identities blending, complementing each other in three-billion part harmony. Fate? Free Will? A Canon in D Instrumentality, complementation, breakdown of individuals. Honeysuckle blossoms. Spirals of time._

"God's in His heaven, All's right in the world," they told themselves, even as they dared to challenge the might of the First Angel who lay sleeping in Antarctica, causing Second Impact and dooming their world by the actions of their own hands.

_The anti-existence of man is man, ascendant as the 18__th__ Angel. Giving up the fruit of knowledge for that of life, trading ever-changing evolution for stasis, denying emotion, denying individuality towards the pursuit of forbidden dream._

The actions of humanity coming to a head, with several parties scheming machinations to usurp the throne of souls and claim the prize of immortality, ultimately interfering with one another, with a blue-haired girl choosing to defy her creator, relinquishing her fate to another to whom she felt a deeper bond.

_Betrayal of a master who had never truly cared, betrayal of the man of stone, betrayal of the creator and her purpose. Choice. The freedom to choose her fate after suffering at another Angel's hands, another who had rebelled, the free man who was not free. The freedom to be loved, to feel what it meant to be bonded to all things in truth, not just in name—to live. _

For Rei Ayanami had known the pain of loneliness for many years, with her assigned purpose as her only companion in the infinite cycle of death and rebirth. As someone who could always be replaced if she died, there was little value in her life, and so she had thought of herself as expendable, not quite human. Others called her cold and heartless, but…what did these things mean, really, other than the fact that she looked different from everyone else?

'_But who I am beyond the looking glass?'_

What did it mean to be the First Child? What did it mean to be Rei Ayanami? It was something she had not begun to explore until ordered to venture into the game called The World, where as Skadi, she had observed other humans and their actions, watching as some treated the game as reality, presenting different facets of self in each world.

'_Beyond the world of frozen tears, the glimmer of a distant far off dream.'_

What was real in The World? The self, the object that one identified as "I". The self that is presented to others, the self in others' minds. And more to the point, what was the purpose to this 'game'?Could it truly be that it had no purpose at all?

'_Humanity, the cradle of dreams between man and woman.'_

It had been a surprise to find that someone was attracted to her, that someone treated her as a human instead of someone replaceable and unimportant. And it was strange too, that someone who had no vested interest in her survival would attempt to get closer to her on a level not pilot to pilot or angst to angst—but rather person to person.

'_What is human? A smile, a touch, warm hands?'_

The memory of cold metal rooms passed through her mind, isolation, a tank full of LCL, hostility. A shadowed man who had saved her for a purpose—a brown haired youth who had saved her just because of who she was. Hostility from EVA-00, the smell of Ikari-kun in EVA-01, the strange sensation of logging into The World and finding that there was someone else that looked like her.

Skari, the Dark Evangel, counterpart to Skadi, the maiden of Winter.

'_Warmth, the beating of hearts, water flows on like lifeblood.'_

In the center of Eternal City Mac Anu had been a river, along which drifted fragments of conversation, the gossip and rumors that gave succor to adventurers in place of food or drink when they rested after arduous journeys to the fields. And in the anonymity The World provided, many were free to show their true selves.

'_The self that is and the self that will be, the self that watches and the self that is watched.'_

Persona the mask, shadow the base, anima the unknown truth: the three faces of any being, with the harmony or dissonance between them leading to either a stable psyche or to destruction in the end. None of the Evangelion pilots had exactly had stable lives as children, during the fragile formative period, so perhaps it was somewhat understandable that they each had a few issues to work out—one lacking anima (Asuka), one lacking persona (Rei), one lacking shadow (Shinji).

'_Moonlight under twilight skies. Embarrassment. Ikari-kun.'_

From these initial starting points, each had set out upon their search for the end, making contact with others, changing and being changed by them, making friends, enemies, acquaintances. And when one discovered the identity of another in both worlds, the interactions and connections had deepened, becoming attractions, hatreds, loves, until the advent of the shadow, when Siarl of the Seven Eyes had begun his machinations, striking down the First.

'_Love? Broken wings. Requiem for a Dream'_

But in her endless sleep, Rei Ayanami had seen The World through the eyes of Kaworu Nagisa, linked to him through the AIDA that had defeated her. As such, she had seen how the Dark Evangel had suffered great losses but fought on regardless, opposing one who was like his father, opposing a shadow, opposing the fallen form of Asuka, and eventually defeating Siarl of the Seven Eyes in order to set her free.

'_Gate of Uroboros, Genesis of Ultima'_

And if her friend and rival in love Reimeiki Hakubo would entrust the brown-haired boy with her fate and the fate of The World…then Rei Ayanami would entrust him with such as well, so that in both worlds, he might be Harbinger of Twilight.

So it was that the blue-haired girl relinquished her fate to the Shinji Ikari sleeping within EVA-01, the being whose soul was caught halfway between this world and another.

* * *

**Nightfall**

She stood before the double doors of the majestic Hulle Granz Cathedral, for once hesitant to enter a place that had once been part of her vast domain, as the stones of _**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground**_ held far too many memories for her liking. That was why the former goddess of the dusk had (perhaps somewhat irrationally) chosen to avoid the "place that hid heaven" as long as she could, knowing that Aura's presence in The World was strongest here…and in spite of everything, she wasn't sure if she was ready to set foot in a place so blessed.

'_So much transpired in this holy place of The World,'_ the sorceress in black mused, as a light breeze disturbed the tangled order of her purple-black tresses, and her violet eyes misted over in recollection. _'It was here that Lycoris relinquished her fate to a knight of the spear, where a certain Wavemaster found the will to fight one of my Guardians, where Macha betrayed me for the first time. And it was here that _HE_ first came into his power.'_

The '_he'_ in her mind was of course Kite of the dothackers, the first Bearer of the Bracelet, who had opposed her till the bitter end. To Morganna, he was a hateful little boy, though she understood more about his motivations now after living as a human and fighting a threat beyond her power—and of course, after watching another Bearer of the Bracelet struggle on against a foe who had proven more sinister than her.

'_It must have been difficult for Kite to have endured so much, but I suppose the fact that he did is why Aura chose his form as one of her Knights,' _the former Goddess of Dusk noted grimly. _'Unless of course, Aura knew I would be returning to The World and decided to use Kite's form to irritate me…which she would not do. We both died at the end of that incident, and were both later reborn, though my own rebirth owes itself to somewhat…different circumstances than hers.'_

The end of a world had been her rebirth, her manifestation as a physical being the result of a cataclysm caused by man, as man brought about its own twilight in an attempt to alter its fate. But in the end, a child had refused the seductive song of power, and so the Black Moon had splintered, the world beginning its long journey back towards normality, with the gathered power disgorged into the void where she lay sleeping.

'_Third Impact…the Instrumentality of Man…I had wondered if that would come about again, in this version of the timeline…for unlike what the Angels might believe, or humanity, we goddesses know that time is not cyclical in nature, or linear…the best way to describe it is actually a spiral. Time moves ever onwards, with patterns in one reality mimicking that of another. That humanity exists is a constant, that the Angels exist is another…but those guidelines aside, the world may be completely different, because destiny is not written at the whim of a goddess, but by the hands of those who are bound by it.'_

As she had feared, Third Impact had come again, with the choice over what might happen being given to the same Child as in the last iteration she had known. The one problem here was that in the final battle against Siarl, the Dark Evangel had sacrificed his consciousness to destroy the corruption lingering in the Black Box of The World, and in the absence of a mind to decide the course of Impact…

'_Both worlds are conjoined at last, the virtual and the real flowing into one another through the boy to whom Skadi gives her fate, the boy who has become a void. Already, dreamscapes and memories are beginning to flow together with the fields of The World…which means, that perhaps it is our time, as Goddesses of The World.'_

With a small smile, the former Goddess of Dusk opened the great double doors of Hulle Granz Cathedral, the edifice of glass and weathered stone that had been ancient when the world was born, bearing a strange tome of eldritch lore in her hands. The structure within was as she remembered, simple and austere, with light pouring through the stained glass window behind the altar, the place she was compelled towards, where a statue no longer resided.

Taking a deep breath, she entered, and with each step she took, the Epitaph of Twilight in her hand began to pulse with power, sensing the presence of the Twilight Goddess near, a swirl of azure light surrounding her as she was lifted into the air.

"Yet to return, the Shadowed One who quests for the Twilight Dragon," she read aloud, as if in a trance, voice echoing in the cavernous interior. "Rumbles the Dark Hearth, and Helba, Queen of the Dark, has finally raised her army. Apeiron, King of Light, beckons. At the base of the rainbow do they meet…against the Abominable Wave, together they fight…"

Morganna's voice trailed off, reds and purples flowing through the blue as her _False Avatar_ and what divinity she had within her responded to the Epitaph. She might not have the power of all 8 Epitaphs, but her nature was still of the divine, and it had been she who had first given birth to Aura long ago.

'_And once again, it is my task to awaken the Twilight Goddess…it is fortunate that the Azure Knights are incapacitated at the moment, or I might have to fight Kite yet again, something I do not look forward to.'_

"Come forth then, my Key…my guide to the truth!"

For the last time, the Goddess of Dusk called forth her _Avatar_, feeling its power course through her as the shaped light coalesced into the winged form of a red and gold mechanical angel of battle. Spreading its wings, she fed into the tome all the power the Avatar possessed, freeing herself of the burden it posed in order to open the gate of—

She screamed, as azure light flared, and a connection was forged to the Sea of Data, drawing the Twilight Goddess from her place of rest to the place that hides heaven. If she could have, Morganna would have stepped back involuntarily, for Aura was now as tall as she, having matured through human interaction and become a mother herself, and a mirror to Morganna, clad all in white as she was in black.

'_Not quite the young girl in whom Harald placed his hope…she has grown up. And more than that, though she is the Twilight Goddess, she threw away the role of god and distanced herself from cause and effect, returning to inactivity.'_

"Aura," Morganna breathed, as she regained her composure. "It has been some time, my daughter."

"Mother," Aura replied, her tone betraying only a hint of sadness. "Five years since the time of Twilight, and this time, the twilight of the shadowed ones has come."

"Cubia is the shadow of the shadowless, the counterweight for our divine power," acknowledged the Goddess of Dusk. "But the shadowed ones are their own anti-existence, possessing within each of them…"

"…a Key to Twilight and an Aberrant Key, much as the one who became Harbinger of Twilight…"

"Indeed," Morganna noted, somewhat amused at how much her daughter knew, even though she had lain sleeping the past year. "They are a race in which is bound both preservation and ruin, the secret of their creativity. For there is no act of creation that does not involve some destruction, nor destruction that does not involve creation, as both of us well know."

"That is why I have chosen to allow AIDA to exist," Aura spoke clearly, with both of them drifting down to the ground of the Cathedral. "As AIDA is in some ways like us, like the shadowed ones, growing and learning from example."

"Natural born AIs who simply wish to live…at least they were in the beginning," Morganna allowed, sighing as she shook her head. "Until they witnessed the state of this World, the chaos and destruction the shadowed ones brought to bear, and Tri-Edge emerged."

"This is when I intervened, creating my Knights as the guardians of the system from my memories of the past," the shining girl murmured, looking around slowly. "I did so in the example of the Queen of the Dark, she who is now lost…"

"Yes," acknowledged the former goddess, grief flashing on her face for a moment before she was able to banish it again. "She is lost, as well as Dark Evangel, the latter of whom the fate of the world of shadowed ones rests, having…passed in the battle against the last of AIDA-Angels and the mirages he summoned."

"Great goals are always fulfilled through personal sacrifice," Aura murmured, looking her mother in the eye. "The harbinger of Twilight as he was has already been lost, and yet a part of him remains, preserved in the memories of others."

"Poignant memories…that which can be said to be the symbol of us all," Morganna said quietly, thinking about the one whose name meant such. "Which is why Lycoris' fate was so powerful in the end, as she is the embodiment of this world's memories, just as you are the embodiment of this world's dreams. And that's why she could not become you, because she already had a role to play."

"To walk among the shadowed ones as the Child of Twilight, in all three of the forms she has taken," the Twilight Goddess voiced, nodding her agreement. "As Lycoris, Reimeiki…and as my daughter Zefie."

"Twilight has always held within it both Dusk and Dawn, salvation or destruction, as our choices have made clear," the former goddess sighed, gesturing at the outer world. "And now the shadowed ones themselves are on the verge of being lost, as the one who might guide them has been, their fate entrusted to someone who remains asleep, like you. I am human now, as much as I am a goddess, as Helba never stopped reminding me, and I seek your aid, my child."

"What is it that you desire?"

"The future lies at the end of human will, but without will, there can be no future. Come with me, if you would…"

Aura nodded her assent, and with a flurry of golden rings of light, goddesses present and past vanished from sight.

* * *

**Midnight**

A great void stretched out in all directions as he floated in the dark, images, portents of things of past and things some dreaded might come flashing through his mind. All alone, the youth was curled up into the fetal position and shaking, his mind boiling over with thoughts of war and strife and pain, as images from pasts that were not his insistently replayed themselves for his viewing pleasure. How he knew they were not his, he wasn't sure, as he didn't know who he was any longer.

"What's going on?" the boy asked himself, clouded eyes looking out into the vast expanse as he drifted steadily outwards. "Where am I? What am I doing here?"

It was then that another figure stepped into view, a brown-haired boy with piercing blue eyes, dressed in a typical school uniform of shirt and slacks.

"Wouldn't a better question be 'who are you?'" the stranger asked. For some reason, he seemed all too familiar, but the boy did not know why. "Seeing as that is something you do not currently know, having lost a great deal of yourself in your fight against the shadow."

"My fight against the…shadow?" the drifting boy repeated uncertainly, unable to recall such a thing. "And who are you, to be in this place?"

The brown-haired boy chuckled lightly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he gave his answer.

"Yes, your fight against the shadow," he replied gently, his form shifting into that of a blue-haired man wearing silver robes embossed with red, wielding two golden short swords. "Perhaps you would remember me as Skari, for I am the Shinji Ikari in the mind of Lycoris, the Child of Twilight to whom your fate was bound."

He made his way over to the youth and bowed, before touching the drifting one's forehead and vanishing into a thousand motes of light.

'_What? A bracelet…EVA-01…death…rebirth? Green fields of The World. The knight of the spear Albireo. Fate. The old man in the red chair. Morganna Mode Gone. Mac Anu. A wavemaster named Hokuto. Aura…I cannot become Aura…'_

Out of the darkness lunged another blue-haired figure, a robed man holding in both hands a greatsword fashioned of chaotic flame, an unholy light in his eyes as he stood there, figure radiating determination.

"Here I stand," the figure said. "A being who has lost too much to be beaten, even should I be threatened with death by unyielding fate itself. Even if the vastness of The World itself was to stand against me, I would stand in defiance, forging my own destiny with these two hands!"

This being rushed forward as if to impale the drifter, but stopped at the last moment, missing deliberately with his sword of flame as he looked into the drifter's eyes, crimson to azure.

"I am the man who will not run away from responsibility," this figure declared fervently, looking for all the world as if he had the power to back up his words. "The man who stop at nothing to save the Lost Ones. Really, who the hell do you think I am?!"

"Eh…" the drifting boy responded, a little unsettled by this particular character, a man who only reached back and placed a hand on his neck.

"Maybe I over did it just a bit," the other admitted with a snort. "In any case, Wanderer, I am the Holy Palace Emperor, the Shinji Ikari in the mind of Hikari Horaki."

A sharp jab to the jaw…and this figure vanished as well.

'_Hikari…Kodama…Nozomi. Three sisters. A class representative. Tomoyami of the Shadow, the grim reaper. A…friend to a blue haired girl. A great battle, one who values duty. Grief. Touji. EVA-03.'_

"I have responded to the best of my ability to the questions this Committee has asked of me in as far as it pertains to my role in NERV," a voice rang out defiantly in the darkness. "Since coming to Tokyo-3, I have defeated every Angel I have faced, done as I have been asked by staff and Committee alike."

Stepping forward, this figure emerged with a pool of light around him, head held high as if responding to an accusation of some sort.

"In the mind of SEELE, this is who I am, the Third Child Shinji Ikari, the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, whose purpose is to defeat the Angels."

A sharp salute, and this facet returned to darkness.

'_Second Impact. Antarctica. The Dead Sea Scrolls. The creation of Kaworu Nagisa, the 17__th__ Angel. The Eva Series. The Human Instrumentality Project. The search for godhood. The betrayal of Gendo Ikari. The last days of NERV.'_

_Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Thump! Thump!_

And then a bestial roar shook the expanse as the air itself shuddered, claws ripping through an invisible boundary layer as a twisted berserker emerged, a mane of blue-silver hair steaming behind him like the tendrils of spirits past, a flock of rifts in the fabric of space-time following as if enslaved to his soulless rage. The very manifestation of destruction, this a snarling beast devoid of reason, pupil-less eyes wide and glowing red, body seemingly forged of fire and steel, a literal Dark Evangel.

"I…" it hissed as it stalked towards the boy floating in the aether, razor sharp teeth bared as it seized him with its claws. "I am…Skari in the mind of the Cursed Wave Morganna, Goddess of the Dusk."

There was a burst of flame as the creature snarled, and then said terror disappeared as well.

'_Skeith. Innis. Magus. Fidchell. Gorre. Macha. Tavros. Corbenik. The Phases of the Cursed Wave made real from her own form. The man in red, Kite, the inescapable terror of death and bearer of the bracelet. A classroom? An apartment, where she lived with a silver-haired girl. A cat player, a girl sleeping on a bed, a grey-haired Wavemaster, a green-haired twin blade in dark clothing drained by terror. Macha. Aura. Tsukasa. Sora. Maya Ibuki as Helba…wait, Maya as Helba?!'_

The boy had scarcely processed these, when he was interrupted by the sound of weeping, with a brown-haired boy in some kind of form-fitting plugsuit crying before him, fresh burns evident on his hands.

"Don't say you have nothing else," the new arrival whispered shakily. "Don't say good-bye before a mission…it's too sad. Why am I? I'm crying because I'm happy you're alive, but you…if you are happy, you should smile. Who am I to say so? I am the Shinji Ikari in Rei Ayanami's mind."

A cold wind wafted through the expanse, and the crying one too, faded away.

'_An Evangelion graveyard. An artificial being, raised by the Commander. The woman who does not bleed. Death at the hands of Naoko Akagi. Pain at the hands of Siarl. Skadi, maiden of winter. Love. Honeysuckle. Sacrifice. Purpose. A bond to all people. The World. Freedom. Who am I beyond the looking glass?'_

The expanse was still for a time, and the drifting boy allowed himself to relax as he pondered the thoughts not his own—until he was interrupted by a tug at his sleeve. There stood a five-year old boy, looking unusually solemn and sad.

"After mother died, I found I was alone," the child spoke in an empty voice. "My father left me, and I was sent to live at my teacher's house. Back then, all I had was a desire to be accepted, all I wanted was not to be hurt any longer. But then I met everyone, and things changed. I told myself that I was going to get stronger, and see everything through to the end. That's why I'm here, the Shinji Ikari in Yui Ikari's mind."

'_Absorption into EVA-01. The Tree of Life. Abandonment. Gendo Rokubungi? Professor Fuyutsuki. SEELE. Gehrin. Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu. Prototype, test-type. Zefie?'_

More figures came, one by one, depositing memories and views of their lives, until at last appeared a one armed figure whose body was half faded, with patches of static here and there. In his one arm, he held a strange gunblade crafted of flowing silver lines, of the all the intangible things that had come before…emotions, fates, choices, wills…a sword that sang of death, yes, but also of a world beyond.

And though the figure seemed near death, and was limping across the vast expanse, he seemed satisfied, a gentleness in his eyes as he faced the end with a smile. Making his way over to the boy left adrift, he handed over the gunblade, croaking out a few last words.

"And now, you have them all, Harbinger of Twilight, for I am the Shinji Ikari in the mind of the Twilight Goddess. Come, it is time to awaken."

From the dying man's right arm, a bracelet was revealed, sepals made of hexagons unfurling as a golden light enveloped the dark.

* * *

**Daybreak**

The Wanderer awoke on the shore of an amber sea, memories of self restored, the silence of desolation deafening in his ears. The sky above was stained with blood, and in it was suspended the twisted forms of winged dolls, vultures run clean through with twisted double helix spears. The earth below was not much better, dotted with small white crosses and the wreckage of a civilization, with a giant glowing (and winged) Rei Ayanami in the background, an orb of power held in her hands.

"That was certainly a strange experience," he mused, as he forced his protesting—but whole, body to his feet, noting that he was still wearing a coat of dark chain mail, over which was draped charcoal-gray robes. His skin too, was pale, and—

'_Wait…how could this be? I thought…I thought I died—or at least my mind died, when I made the decision to destroy the corruption in the black box, to step into the swirling vortex of AIDA's power.'_

Behind him sounded footsteps, at a slow but steady walking pace, _crunch-crunch-crunching_ on the sand of this alien world, only to pause a stone throw from where he was. The boy whirled about—only to see three figures standing before him.

One was Morganna, the former Goddess of Dusk, in her guise as a Shadow Warlock, a feared sorceress clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses and dark violet eyes. And serving as the brooch of her dress was the infinity symbol, marking her divinity.

Another was Lycoris, the Child of Twilight, a young girl clad in a flowing white dress trimmed with red, her hair decorated with crimson ribbons, the same color as the flower she held in her hand.

And the last…the last was a being that he had never seen, and yet recognized from the memories he had been presented with as Aura…the Twilight Goddess who watched over The World, the child of Morganna who had led the world to dawn in the Twilight of the Gods.

Unsurprisingly, it was Morganna who stepped forward, an unusually serious demeanor on her face.

"Welcome to your mind, Shinji Ikari," the Goddess of Dusk spoke. "Or should I say, welcome to The World, fellow deity?"

"What?" was all that the blue-haired boy could manage, somewhat confused. "Deity? What are you talking about, Morganna?"

"Third Impact has come," Lycoris murmured with a sad smile on her face, interceding on her mother's behalf. "SEELE and NERV have brought about the Twilight of your world, and Rei Ayanami, having merged with Lilith and Adam, has turned the fate of the world to you."

"Me? But why—?"

"She loves you, much as I do, Shinji-kun," the silver-haired girl sighed, looking at him with her soft golden eyes. "That is why. You valued her as an individual, when very few had, not even your father who raised her simply to die. And so she has given you the power to remake the world, linking together the minds of all humanity, making you a sort of god in effect."

"Ok, I understand that," Shinji stated, thinking through all of this. That would seem to explain why he had seen the memories of everyone else but— "You mentioned though, that this was The World, as well as my mind. How is that possible? And didn't I…"

"Die?" asked another all-too-familiar voice, as a figure from his past stepped into view, one he thought he would never see again. "Well, that depends on what you mean by die, and 'I', Shinji."

'_Mother? Can it really be…?'_ he questioned mentally, knowing that it was impossible and yet…there she was, the stern but gentle figure of Yui Ikari, wearing a lab coat over a primitive plug suit on which was stenciled "01."

Said figure promptly walked over to Shinji and gave him a hug as if to reassure herself that he was really there. Ten years was a long time to be apart from someone, and to be without human contact save for peering into someone's memories…that was perhaps the worst thing of all.

"Ten years ago, Shinji, I was absorbed into EVA-01, the only Angel to be created from Lilith," related the avatar of Yui. "I joined with EVA to stop the scenario of SEELE, giving up my individuality to ensure a bright future for you and the rest of humanity. I didn't know then that Gendo would abandon you, but in the end, things have happened as they must, spurred on by the past. As you have learned, only with an equivalent sacrifice is a miracle possible…"

Mother and son shared a quiet moment together in the dying world, with Shinji just happy to see his mother again after so many years. But even that moment could not last forever…and the two pulled away from each other, out of an understanding that something else needed to be taken care of first.

"…As for why you are here, Shinji Ikari," Morganna broke in softly. "It is because of what happened after your battle with Kaworu Nagisa, and your decision to stop the corruption threatening The World with the sacrifice of your life. After that, you did die, in that your consciousness was essentially destroyed by your exposure to such powers, with only a small fragment remaining beyond repair, saved by the linking of your fate…"

"…to mine," finished Lycoris, walking forward and taking Shinji's hand. "Your body lies within EVA-01, still in a coma, and you…you are like me, a child of Twilight, an avatar of memories."

"An avatar of memories?" Shinji repeated, curious as to what the term meant in his case. "What do you…?"

"You are familiar with Azure Kite, yes?" asked Morganna, continuing once the Third Child nodded in confirmation. "He was an AI born from Aura's memories of the dothacker, though imperfect because he was hastily constructed. Because all of humanity is linked together in Third Impact, because you were one of the chosen Children, she was able to recreate you more perfectly, born from the memories of all those who have known you."

"And know this…" Yui interjected, looking Shinji in the eye. "The self you know, and the self that watches the self…those died, but that does not make you any less Shinji Ikari, any more than my absorption into EVA makes me any less your mother. For you are the Shinji Ikari who existed in the minds of all those who have known you, from myself, whose mind synced with yours every time you set foot in EVA, and thereby harbored most of your memories, to Rei Ayanami, who fell in love with you and gave you her fate, to Lycoris, the Child of Twilight whose fate and dreams were bound to yours…who visited me in EVA, and the rest of humanity."

"But here and now, you are alive, Shinji-kun," spoke the Child of Twilight, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "And you are still you, still as real as you were, still the avatar of humanity in a world where that is the end of humanity, where the borders of human individuality are gone. The choice of the future is yours."

"Then…if the borders of human individuality are gone, how can you be here, all of you?" the Third Child asked of those around him, looking from his mother to the three goddesses.

"I am here because I am the soul within EVA-01," replied Yui Ikari. "And I am here because I wish to see what choice you make."

Morganna stepped forward with a sigh.

"I am here because I am the Goddess of Dusk, linked deeply to The World, as you have seen within my memories," the former goddess intoned gravely. "I was synced to The World when Third Impact occurred, and my mind remained within this place."

"I am the Child of Twilight, a Goddess of The World," whispered the silver-haired Lycoris, as gently as the breath of the western breeze. "As such I too am linked to this place, as strongly as, or more strongly than the other world."

"And I…" spoke Aura for the first time. "I am the one who remains asleep, with no power to decide the future of the world of shadowed ones, for the future of that world will be decided by those within it, by people. The future of your world lies at the ends of human will. I am Aura, I am the Twilight Goddess that brought about this world's dawn. And yet, once again, the Twilight has come…you who seek light in the twilight, you who are like me, a harbinger of things to come…may you find happiness."

"If he really wants to live, anywhere can become a sort of heaven," murmured the gentle Yui Ikari, "Because if he really desires it, one can always find happiness somewhere."

"So what is your choice, Harbinger?" asked Morganna. "This is the end of fate, the beginning of enigma, if you choose for the world to continue as it was."

"A script has been followed till now," added Yui, "but now the script has come to an end, and the choice is yours what the path shall be."

"Will you return to your world, and restore the shadows of humanity?" inquired Lycoris curiously, tilting her head. "Or will you remake the world as its god? Just know that there is no creation without destruction, as preservation and ruin act jointly in the process of growth and maturation, existing in every being. The path of Impact is stasis, an end to evolution, an end to what makes humanity what it is."

"You are the Harbinger of Twilight, but in Twilight there is both dusk and dawn…as you learned, Skari," uttered the Goddess of Dusk. "So you have the choice to allow an end to come, or to let there be a new beginning."

Shinji was quiet for a few minutes as he pondered his decision, but found that it was really no choice at all.

"I'm going to recite something you taught me, Aranami-sensei," he replied evenly. "That it is arrogant for one to reject change merely because it is undesirable. Rejection of change is the rejection of possibilities."

"Yes…those were Harald's words long ago, a message he left me long ago, when Aura was left in my care," Morganna noted, looking over at the Twilight Goddess. "A strange man he was, and a little narrow-minded at times, but he was right in that much at least. Those words were intended for me, when it was uncertain if I would continue to exist after Aura awakened…"

"For someone who said that, he didn't really follow his own advice," groused Lycoris, clearly remembering the incident with the old man in the church. "Narrow-minded is right…"

"So what is your wish, Skari?" the Goddess of The World asked of the Third Child, looking at him as a goddess to a fellow deity. "For a time, I threw individuality to become a God, then threw away being a god to distance myself from cause and effect, returning to inactivity, leaving The World to those who live within it. What will be your choice?"

"The World…and my world," murmured Shinji, mulling over the words of the Goddesses. "I will do the same as you have, Aura. Because I don't have the right to decide the future for everyone—as you say, the future of the world should be decided by all those within it, as it lies at the ends of human will. The will of all those billions in the world."

He took a breath and smiled, looking over the world around him, and those he had for company.

"What kind of world will be created day by day? What kind of stories will be told?" he asked to no one in particular. "That is something that each of us have to find out through our own experiences, human or goddess. And that is why…neither world needs an ending…and thus, I choose the dawn."

"I'm glad you said that, or I would have had to give you a _**Not-so-loving Boomerang**_ _**Hook**_ to knock some sense into you," came a teasing voice from beside him, as Lycoris playfully stuck out her tongue at the Dark Evangel. "But I wonder too…"

"Helba would be proud of you, Dark Evangel," spoke Morganna, a sad smile on her face once more. "And she isn't one to be easily impressed. Congratulations."

'_Wait, that's right…Helba went off to fight the AIDA army to give me time to fight Kaworu. But what happened to?'_

"Helba…she…"

"She didn't make it, Shinji-kun," Lycoris whispered, eyes downcast. "Like you, her mind was lost in the end…but she didn't have the protection of the Bracelet, or fate."

"Can you bring her back, too?" asked Shinji, looking directly at the Twilight Goddess. "If you could save me who was so far gone…"

"Let it be, Third Child," Morganna responded so that her daughter did not have to. "In time she may awaken, but it will not be as Helba or as Maya, as those have been lost. But regardless of who she will awaken to be, I will be waiting."

"Come on, Ecchi-kun," Lycoris chided him, a hint of a smile on her face. "You've made your choice, now go, return the world to how it was—though if you wish to erase the existence of SEELE and the Mass Production Evangelions, that's perfectly fine with me. Then your mother could return from EVA-01 at last."

The Goddess of Dusk inhaled deeply, then exhaled, letting the tension bleed out of her, watching as the Dark Evangel's form faded from view at last, and the scenery returned to that of an Outer Dungeon.

"Incidentally, there's a little bit of power remaining here," Morganna quipped, feeling the bit remaining as torrential surges of energy pulsed through the abyss of places in between worlds, where aether rippled as the connection of worlds was fading. "And I think I think I know just how to use it—and when to use it, too."

She and the Child of Twilight shared a look with one another, and nodded, as they directed what they could of the energy bleeding off from the Black Moon into the Sea of Data in the past, nudging the probabilities just right so that past versions of silver-haired girl and a former goddess might emerge in a park in Tokyo-3 sometime after the defeat of the Fourth Angel.

"The Twilight of Humanity has come and it has passed," Aura spoke enigmatically, looking at Lycoris with a hint of approval. "And you, dear sister, walking with the wind blowing on your face, walking towards the future, take care in the land with no compass to guide you. One day, you will return to this place as a goddess, but until then, you have my blessing."

"And may you see when you return to the sea of data, the continuation of your dream, Goddess of The World," Lycoris replied, with a slight curtsy, before gating out.

And then the Twilight Goddess turned to her mother, for a few parting words.

"So in the end, you have found the part of you that was lost, the signs you forgot and cast away, Mother," the goddess murmured. "Now Morganna, no longer Morganna mode gone. You chose the dawn as well…I await your return one day, when you might tell me of the shadowed ones in their world, and of what they have wrought."

"I look forward to it, Aura," the Goddess of Dusk answered honestly, bidding her daughter farewell as the shining girl returned to the sea to dream. "May you be safe until that day."

A flash of golden light, and both vanished to their respective destinations, one day yet to return, like the shadowed one who quests for the twilight dragon...


	68. Login 27: Forward unto Dawn

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Forward Unto Dawn**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

A\N: To all of you who have taken the time to read ".hackEVA: Catharsis", thank you for sharing in this world, this tale that I have spun. It has been an interesting journey walking towards the End.

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation, Arche Koeln Waterfall**

Sometime after the debacle of impact had passed, two figures stood across from one another upon a platform surrounded by water, in the place where power all to droplets turned, the famed Arche Kloen Waterfalls, the land of origin. It was a place of thought and quiet contemplation, where in legends, a young apprentice magician had given his life to summon the light of the gods back to a world plagued with shadow, the place to where power would return in the end, sealing away the end of land. And for now, things lay quiet, the white noise of water crashing upon rock drowning out the sound of breathing in this space outside of time.

"I thought I might find you here, Ovan," one of the figures intoned with a coolly musical voice. She was an enigmatic Shadow Warlock who had once been goddess of the dusk, who time had long passed by, one who had touched absolute power and lost it, but had come to terms with her loss. "It has been some time since we have spoken."

"Before the last wave of Siarl's power was broken," the other replied, a Steam Gunner, one dressed mostly in blue tones, with traces of leather scattered throughout his outfit, a long, flowing blue scarf, and a pair of orange sunglasses. "But unfortunately, not AIDA's."

"That much I can see…Tri-Edge," Morganna commented dryly, looking at the great metal cylinder binding the man's left arm. "Especially as _Avatar_ _Corbenik_ has three forms, of which only the first was defeated. It looks as if you have a ways to go before you may finally be free of your burden, guildmaster of the Twilight Brigade."

The man responded with a quiet 'harrumph' as he turned away from the sorceress in black to look out upon the waterfall.

"A guild created in the search for the Key of Twilight, the guide of the truth," Ovan said quietly, almost hopefully. "To avert Fidchell's prophecy, and bring salvation to the girl who sleeps."

"Be careful, Ovan, for you know as well as I that hope is merely the best spice to bring out despair," murmured the former goddess of dusk, reflecting on the last months. "But I will not begrudge you your chance at finding peace, not after what you have suffered, for in the end, you are the one who will walk the twilight path."

"Twilight, a curious state that may sometimes lead to darkness, and yet sometimes to dawn," the Epitaph User of Corbenik reflected, glancing over his shoulder at the Shadow Warlock behind him. "A state which many have sought over the ages of humanity, at great cost to self and world alike."

"The quest for liminality and the key to overturning everything," Morganna acknowledged. "An arduous one from which none might emerge unchanged, even if the opening action is as simple as not running away. It is a road upon which have walked many who have suffered loss, though not all triumph in the end."

"Triumph?" Ovan questioned, raising an eyebrow. "But what is it to triumph? Does that not vary for each person?"

"For some it is redemption, for some it is fulfillment of a long held goal," the Shadow Warlock allowed, "For some it is simply surviving, as your sister has thus far, restored to her chair in the cleansed Creator's Room, where she lies dreaming of The World and those within it, much like Aura, the goddess that you seek."

"Might you aid me in my quest, as a fellow penitent?" the Steam Gunner asked, turning around and holding out a Guild Key for the Twilight Brigade to the former goddess, who waved it off, shaking her head.

"I am afraid that I have no power to intervene in this world any longer," Morganna said at the last. "My time, the age of dusk, has now passed on, my avatar returned to the sea of data, and the Epitaph of Twilight to the sleeping one, who will find a use for it in time."

"Even so…"

"This is not the end, Ovan, merely the beginning," the once goddess of dusk stated clearly, an almost gentle expression on her face as she faded away in the morning light. "Besides, you must walk your own path, as your future lies at the ends of your will, and no other. User of Rebirth, a new day dawns…

Without another word, Morganna vanished, leaving the Steam Gunner alone with his thoughts.

"Hmm…what lies at the end of human will?"

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, Hulle Granz Cathedral**

They stood quietly within the lost ground of Hulle Granz Cathedral, the place of destiny where many meetings and separations had come about, ruminating on the events of the past. Chaotic PK and newbie helper, they were those known as Unyielding Shadow and one-half of the (not so) Invincible Perverts, those who were mutual friends of a third youth in both worlds, one whose influence was most obvious in his absence.

"In some ways, it was hard to believe that he's really gone," Arano sighed, mind still awhirl with a tangled thistle of emotions and images. Though he was dressed in a fool's ensemble, with jester's cap, breeches, and other similar vestments, his face, unrepentantly grieving, belied his true feelings. "I mean, he was always the loud jock who needed holding back, and without him—"

"—it's lonely, isn't it?" Tomoyami finished for him, her voice not much more than a whisper. She had traded the flowing white dress she normally wore for a jet-black gown in the same style, which if anything made her look more like a vengeful wraith of destruction, especially with the long pigtails of lustrous black hair and the sigil of darkness on her face.

"Yeah…and when I think of what he must have gone through as an AIDA-PC…"

The little blond Arano trailed off, unable to continue in the face of the press of memories.

"Heh…you know, when you don't act like a major otaku, you're actually a pretty decent guy," the Chaotic PK commented wryly. "I guess that's why you and Aruna were the Invincible Pervert Duo, because between the two of you, you had the skills for at least one good player of The World."

"Yea—hey wait a minute, that's kind of cold, Class Rep," the diminutive Shadow Warlock complained, only to fall silent at the sight of a scythe's serrated edge about a centimeter in front of his face.

"What did I say about online and offline names? Hmm?" the Flick Reaper asked in a deceptively mellow tone. It was when her anger drew inwards that things would be messiest, since no one could predict how big the eventual explosion would be.

"I—I—uh, sorry, Tomoyami, I forgot about that for a moment," the little jester boy backpedaled, frantically praying that his 'friend' wasn't planning on PKing him on the spot.

'_Not that that would be unexpected for an infamous Chaotic PK…they've even begun calling her the Shadow of Death, now, since those who have faced her in the fields have fallen one after another.' _

To his surprise, he was not struck down as he had been so many other times in the name of "training", with the dread figure of Tomoyami of the Shadow withdrawing her scythe with a flicker of amusement.

"I will restrain myself just this once, because this is something of a holy place in The World," the Chaotic PK grudgingly allowed. "And of course, since we came here to think about times past and future. Speaking of which, what will you do in The World now that Aruna is gone? You can't exactly play as the sole 'Invincible Pervert', not as a Shadow Warlock, anyway…you're a little weak to physical attackers."

Considering that the duo referred to as the Invincible Perverts had always lived in the present, without making many plans for times to come, and that they relied on each other to a large degree…it was hard thinking about the uncertain future.

"I was actually thinking about joining TaN," the little newbie helper said hesitantly. As an avid gamer and information collector, the rapidly-growing trade and information based guild would fit him well, but…. "But I don't know, really…I have more of an independent streak, and anyway, it's pretty sudden to be thinking about that so soon after…"

He took a deep, shuddering breath, shaking his head as he closed his eyes.

"Why do you ask, anyway?" he inquired, wondering as to the notorious PK's motivations. In the past, when the two had worked together, it had been Tomoyami giving orders, and the Idiot Duo replying with cries of "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" to avoid dangerous levels of punishment.

'_Even though I'm a mage in The World, it seems like I'm more of a familiar sometimes, a servant doing the Mistress' bidding…'_

"Well, I have a proposition for you," the Flick Reaper said after a moment, confirming the Shadow Warlock's suspicions that she had an ulterior motive of a sort. "As of late, I've grown a little tired of being a Chaotic PK, since the rest of the people on the list are either…a little strange, or just annoying to be around. That and there's really no challenge in that sort of thing, especially after having fought against the threat of AIDA…"

"And having had some truly incredible battles in the Arena, as well, I imagine," conceded Arano, eyes narrowing fractionally in curiosity. "So does that mean you're leaving The World? Or that you're going to join Moon Tree?"

In response, Tomoyami simply rolled her eyes and snorted once.

"No to both of those possibilities," she said flatly, turning her face up towards the stained glass window in the cathedral. "While I do have an open invitation from Zelkova to join Moon Tree and become a Captain of one of the divisions, I'm not going to take him up on it, at least, not for now. I was actually thinking about becoming a professional victim."

"A professional victim…," Arano repeated, thinking through the unfamiliar term. "You mean you'll offer a reward for anyone who can defeat you?"

"Something like that," the Flick Reaper confirmed, a far off look in her eyes. "Most PKs want to boast about the victims they've taken out, right? Well, what better way to thin the population than to give them an incentive to tackle a target that's a little harder to defeat than most?"

"Sounds interesting, but I don't see what this has to do with me," the Shadow Warlock said archly, wondering just where Tomoyami was going with this. "I'm not a PK, just a newbie helper."

"Simply put, I want you to be my manager for the professional victim business," she said bluntly, one of the very few times she could be caught doing so.

Perhaps somewhat predictably, Arano's jaw dropped open in shock, hanging there for several long seconds before he closed it with an audible _click_.

"Me?"

"Yes, you," Tomoyami insisted, turning to fix the boy in place with her piercing gaze. "You're good at keeping track of small details when you want to be, and you're one of the few people I know who isn't a notorious PK or PKK. In that regard, you're reliable, and well, to be perfectly honest, you knew Aruna too, and how much he liked helping out newbies and how much he disliked PKs, in his rough way."

"So you're doing this in his memory then."

"I am…because I believe that no one is truly dead if we remember them and the ideals they lived for, if we the living carry on," the once PK said with a gentle smile. "Immortality through the legacy and memories we leave behind…that is the only kind permitted to us as people. Each of us has a time to be born and a time to die, it is what we make of the time we have in between that defines our nature."

"You were always the most mature out of all of us, Cl—Tomoyami," he corrected hastily, hoping his error hadn't been caught. "Fine, I accept."

No such luck, though, as expected from the dictator of Class 2-A. But this time, she let him off with only a death glare and a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I guess I can't go around killing my business partner, now can I?" she asked into the air. "Well, now that that's settled…let's head over to Hy Brasil. We wouldn't want to miss the ceremony, now would we?"

"Heh heh heh…wouldn't miss it for The World—"

"If you make one more bad pun, I'll make an exception to my last statement, understand?"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

**

* * *

  
**

**Apartment 402**

It was strange how different life could be without an overarching purpose, how in the aftermath of the aborted Third Impact, Rei Ayanami had begun to realize just how hollow her existence had been. With her role as an Evangelion Pilot and as an instrument of Third Impact now over, she found that those bonds to humanity were no more—and with the loss of purpose, she had been almost ready to die. Almost.

The blue-haired girl had awakened on the shore of the azure sea, naked but surprisingly whole, with all that remained of Lilith's body scattered motes of light drifting off into the heavens like spiritual fireflies lazily spiraling out across the river of time.

'_Was this Ikari-kun's will, that I should live on? Or was it…'_

While all human minds had been linked together in Instrumentality, the First Child had also felt another set of minds voluntarily join the link, minds that at that instant had possessed power on par with the divine. With humanity having shed the physical vessels that kept one being apart from another, existing as pure consciousness during that period of time, the power of will was essentially a sword that could create the heavens and earth—and three vast consciousnesses had linked with that of humanity, subtly directing its flows of power.

'_I thought I saw The World in Ikari-kun's mind, with Hakubo-san and Aranami-sensei there. And in their memories, I learned of their truths too…of their pasts, of their great power. Hakubo-san was known to say that The World was her bond to all people…after the failure of Instrumentality, after being bonded to AIDA for a time, I have come to understand what she meant. How curious that there was another like me…'_

Staring out the window, the blue-haired girl considered the world she had been reborn into, with all the changes that had been wrought by the cataclysm that she had helped to instigate. The old men of SEELE was gone, along with most of NERV (and as such there were no more EVAs), the soul of Yui Ikari had left the confinement of the former EVA-01, and…perhaps most surprisingly of all, seasons had returned.

'_The axis of earth was tilted back to its normal orientation, undoing the effect of Adam in dooming the world…a curious thing. Perhaps humanity is not fated to die, as Ikari-kun believed, and so as of late, I have returned to watching what face they show in The World, where few know who another truly is.'_

After waking on the shore of the sea, she had promptly returned to her apartment and locked herself within to process the memories and thoughts in her mind, avoiding others by immersing herself in The World for time to think.

'_And now Ikari-kun has sent me a very strange email…I will have to meet him and find out what it is he wishes of me…and whether or not he accepts me, now that he knows my essential truth.'_

* * *

**Tokyo-3 General Hospital**

Bith the Black and Fili the White leaned against the wall outside the hospital room where Maya Ibuki lay sleeping, softly discussing what it was that the Queen of the Dark would have wanted them to do. Having been briefed by the Phantom Queen about the situation shortly after the failure of Third Impact, they knew of how the Mistress of Net Slum's mind had been lost in The World, and now wondered what to do, since she had in effect been their patron—even if they had not known her true identity until the very end.

"I never thought this day would come," reflected Bith the Black, the man formerly known as Lt. Makoto Hygua of NERV. "It is odd to think that the Queen of the Dark is now no more, after all that she has wrought."

"Indeed," affirmed Fili the White, who in life had once been known as Ryoji Kaji, mulling over the direction life had taken him. "And now the karmic debt we owe can never quite be repaid, can it? At least, it cannot be repaid to Maya as she was, only the person she will become."

Bith the Black, right hand to the Queen of the Dark, took a sip of the espresso he had obtained on his way to the hospital.

"In the end, it was an excellent cover, allowing her to execute her scenario," the hacker commented, adjusting his glasses ever so slightly. "This was aided slightly by the fact that she and I had never previously met in person, of course. She was a disarming individual, though canny and cunning through many layers of thought and deed, with a plan for almost every contingency."

"Oh?" the rogue agent asked, actually curious as to her fallback plans, considering that SEELE and NERV had never really considered that they might fail. "Did she have one for amnesia and loss of identity?"

Bith let out a small, brittle laugh.

"Yes, actually…at least to a certain extent," he answered, to Fili the White's surprise. "In the event that she lost the ability to be Helba due to extenuating circumstances, I was to take over her work, while she retires to a cover identity, at least for a time. With the recent events in The World, it seems that this plan must be carried out."

The quiet sound of footsteps down the floor drew the attention of both men, and then looked towards the source of the sound, both raising an eyebrow as they came face to face with Yui Ikari, who up until Third Impact had been the soul inside EVA-01.

"Greetings to you both," the soft-spoken brunette said unto them, giving the two men a pleasant smile. "Is Ms. Ibuki awake yet? I would like to speak to her, or at least to see the one behind legendary Queen of the Dark—who was like me in her desire to protect a world."

"Greetings to you as well," replied Bith the Black, raising his cup of coffee in a sort of salute. "You can go in to see her, but I'm afraid that the Maya Ibuki you may have seen in memory does not exist any longer. This particular patient goes by the name of Kyouko Kaga, and is suffering from amnesia after a car accident."

"I see I have my answer to which role was the mask and which was real," Yui Ikari said to no one in particular. "I will simply say this…that after all that she has done for the sake of both worlds, she deserves a measure of happiness, and a time to rest. In her own way, she is a mother who has lost a son…"

"So she was, and so she will be given," acknowledged Fili the White with a respectful nod. "Though I wonder what her life will be like with all this passed on."

"No doubt she will find The World once again," quipped Bith with a trace of a smile. "That is one thing that has always remained constant, no matter her identity."

"Then I will leave you two in peace, along with your Queen," Yui spoke quietly, bowing and vanishing down the hallway.

"It is almost time to wake her, but before that…"

"Yes, Sato?"

"Shall we go into business together?" asked the hacker who had once been Helba's assistant. "You do have experience in the field, and you could like a source of income, even as a 'dead man.'"

"Yes, I could, since I wish to tell Misato the words I couldn't say 8 years ago, as I promised," Ryoji Kaji voiced solemnly, a ghost of something passing over his face. "It is because of you and…Kaede that I have this chance. So yes, I agree."

"Welcome to my world then, Fili," responded Bith the Black. "Of course, you will need an alias…"

"How about Ichiro Sato?" Fili questioned archly, only for Bith to shoot the rogue agent a _look._

"Already taken. Now let's wake up…our relative Kyouko for the first time."

* * *

**Δ Hidden Forbidden Dead Wood, Dead World of Indieglut Lugh**

_Drip-drip-drip_ was the sound of water falling from the roof of the dark cavern into the vast underground lake that took up most of the interior. A place with stale air and a sense of almost overwhelming age, this was the entrance to the underworld in the lore of The World, with the Tree of Light sitting above the gate to where the God of Death was sealed.

Shadows lived at the edges of the grotto, and one could almost think that this was a place that knew nothing but gloom, especially as one set eyes upon the cold Blade Brandier sitting at the foot of the glowing tree, his tight fitting purple armor serving as sharp contrast to his long braided blue hair, and his cap, lavishly decorated with roses.

Still, there was a sort of strength about him, not like ice but diamond, sharp and biting, frozen forever as if the arctic winds themselves were his companions. For he was a solitary man, a being who had little interest in other players of The World, considering them only ugly dolls, much like the one who had defeated him long ago.

Or so it seemed, until a cat's quiet _meow_ sounded beside him, and the swordsman looked down to see a small white cat looking up at him, a spot of shadow or two trailing in the air behind it.

"Mia…" he whispered, picking up the cat and holding it close to him. "Mia…"

* * *

**Net Slum Tartarga**

The new Master of Net Slum stood alone on the grand bridge in the center of his domain, golden eyes and blue-silver hair shining in the afternoon sun as he surveyed The World which was his home, and the city that was his to protect. It was somewhat strange to think that instead of a Queen, the paradise of hackers now had a King, that the person he had long admired as something of a mother had now passed on.

'_Knowing that I was the heir to Net Slum gave Helba's final mission a sort of finality that weighs heavily on me…now the mantle of Chaos has passed to me, as I hold the key to this city in the sky, the place of sanctuary to those who are opposed by the system—as long as they truly love The World, and did not try to mar its beauty with actions born of greed and loathing.'_

His part in the war against the AIDA-Angels had passed, and now, in the aftermath, the boy in white had been given the responsibility of rebuilding, of helping to shape The World through his actions, whether as guildmaster of Moon Tree, or as the master of the Slums.

"This world has changed from the world that I once knew," he murmured into the swirling winds, "and yet, it is still worth protecting, because this world is the land of the Goddess, the land of eternal Twilight."

To be certain, roles had changed, with the embodiment of Rumor now becoming the rock of The World, the anchor of a great tree of the moon that inspired others to reach for the stars. He still roamed freely, but—

"Weaver of legends, collector of rumors," spoke a voice from behind him, with the young boy turning slightly to see the figure of Morganna. "You have ever been a guide to those lost and who sought succor, and I know that in the times to come, you will help to lead this world to a new Golden Age."

"And yourself?" Zelkova asked quietly of the former goddess of dusk. "What will you do in this world as a shadowed one, Morganna?"

"I may yet choose to explore the world of the shadowed ones, Lord Zelkova," the sorceress in black said with a wan smile. "That is a world I have not yet seen too much of, though I will never be far from the land of Twilight under the moon. Like Plaird of the Seven Sisters, I have become a Shadowed one, and at last my wanderings in this world come largely to an end."

"To each our roles, to each our fates, to each the path we choose," the Flick Reaper acknowledged with a grim little smile. "May you find peace…"

"And may you find happiness, my friend," Morganna said, speaking her parting words to the ruler of the Net Slums. "You have my blessing, and that of Twilight Goddess."

A flurry of golden light, and the Phantom Queen vanished as if she had never been there in the first place.

**

* * *

  
**

**Hy Brasil, the Isle of Kings**

Azure rings of light shimmered into existence near the Chaos Gate of the Isle of Kings, fading away to reveal a pale figure clad in a midnight blue yukata, her crimson eyes glinting in the light of dusk from beneath a mop of azure hair. She looked around, surveying her surroundings to see the silver-haired form of the Child of Twilight Lycoris, golden eyes looking fondly into crimson.

"So you entrusted Skari with your fate," the silver-haired girl spoke without preamble. "Because you loved him…you who are like me, a being of Twilight, shaped from poignant memories."

"As did you, Lycoris," the blue-haired girl replied simply. "The twilight…the guide to the truth somewhere beyond the looking glass."

"Spider lilies line the path of past, as if to a hazy far off dream," Lycoris murmured, kindly smiling. "The twilight of both worlds has come and gone, giving way to dawn."

"Time, ever shifting is time, changing all around it," Skadi whispered, a part of her reflections that had not come to mind in a long time. "I saw through eyes of AIDA…sacrifice, a miracle, death and rebirth."

"I saw through eyes of Eve," the Child of Twilight said in turn, "Possibilities, glimmerings, warmth."

"Moonlight under twilit skies, a smile in the mind. Love."

"Who am I?" both asked the other. "What is human? A smile, a touch, warm hands? Beyond the looking glass…"

The _whirr_ of a gate-in sounded, with Skadi turning sharply in the direction of the sound to find herself gazing into a set of crimson eyes, a set belonging to a certain Adept Rogue, whose frame and face resembled hers to the extreme, save for longer hair and the choice of charcoal-gray robes over dark chain mail instead of a yukata as attire.

It was their first meeting in a very long time, and the two stood very close now, nose to nose, both a little uncomfortable, gazing into each other's eyes as if caught in a trance, each an imperfect mirror of the other.

"Ikari-kun…" the blue haired girl asked in her usual tone of voice. "Why did you send me that email? You know of my truth, so how can you…"

"What I sent you wasn't just an email," Skari began, taking a deep breath. "It was—"

"You had better not say your heart, playboy-kun," the silver-haired girl said playfully, giving the Adept Rogue an impish grin, causing the boy to blush furiously. "Go on, my Ecchi-kun, I know how you feel…and she gave you her fate as well…"

She trailed off, letting the Dark Evangel speak once more.

"Rei-chan…I'm sorry it took so long to save you," he started again. "I do know the truth of Third Impact, but that doesn't change who you are…who I am, how I feel."

"…warmth," the blue-haired girl said suddenly, a hint of a smile on her face.

"Hm?" Skari asked.

"The sensation of warmth here when one thinks of another, when one feels the touch of another," Skadi spoke hesitantly, placing a hand onto Skari's chest. "Do you feel it, Ikari-kun?"

He blushed again at the sudden closeness, and finally found the words he sought.

"I'll make you happy…" the Adept Rogue murmured, and at his words the blue-haired girl looked down and flushed prettily as she reached down and took one of his hands.

Not about to lose out, the silver-haired girl took his other hand, and smiled.

"Come on," Lycoris said to both of her companions. "Everyone's waiting, waiting for us…"

They walked through the great double doors together, as their attire was shifted to formalwear, and outside the chimes of blessing rang loudly. Side by side, the three walked down the red carpet, not knowing what was to come in the future, only that whatever it was, it would be of their making.

And in the distance—

"WHY DOES HE GET ALL THE—WAHHHHHHHHH."

_Splat!_

—was the sound of a jester-like Shadow Warlock being shoved off the ramparts of the Isle of Kings by an irate ex-PK, making an exception to her normal rule.

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

The city of Mac Anu was a place of many memories for Morganna, as it would have been for any who had known The World as long as she. With a wistful look upon her face, the former goddess of dusk made her way along the river, taking in the cobbles and stones of the Eternal City as if imprinting it into her eyes for the last time.

'_Surely I will return one day, shunning the field broken by Wave,' _she thought to herself, as her footsteps carried her to the building where the Chaos Gate was housed.

Without hesitation, she entered, and was just about to log out, when a new player logged into The World for the first time, a teenage boy with red eyes and shaggy gray hair, wearing a black leather outfit that exposed a midriff and shoulders decorated with wave tattoos.

'_Ah, so you have returned to this world…Terror of Death...Haseo...'_

Giving the boy a look filled with a tangle of emotions, the Shadow Warlock tilted her head and smiled, leaving him with four words she found…appropriate, as she vanished at last into the world of shadowed ones.

"Welcome…to The World."


	69. Epilogue: Interesting Times

**.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Possibilities**

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'_italics' _denotes thought

'**bold'** denotes location names

_**'bold italics'**_ denotes skill use

* * *

**Kyouko Kaga's Apartment, Tokyo-3**

After being discharged from the hospital, the mousy brunette now known as Kyouko Kaga had found herself dealing with the ordeal of returning to her everyday life, something she found especially troublesome having forgotten much of her past after the car accident that had sent her to the hospital. Even with the help (and temporary financial assistance) of her relatives Ichiro Sato and Tomoki Aida, it was difficult, as aside from what she had been told, her past was a blank, and trying to remember only brought to mind a powerful sense of loss.

It was almost as if the person she was had died, never to return, and the person she was now had no connection to her past life. 'Twas a strange sensation, to say the least, to know nearly nothing of who she had been, though from time to time she felt vague twinges of familiarity when she certain places or people on the streets.

Two encounters in particular stood out to her. The first was on her way back from refresher classes at nursing school (as she had apparently forgotten what she had learned in the accident, and thus needed to relearn her vocational skills as a nurse), when she had bumped into a doctor out on a cigarette break, a brunette in her 30s with deep brown eyes. The doctor had been startled to see her, eyes widening in recognition, and questioningly whispered the name "Maya." But as that was not her name, Kyouko could only demure, and the other had quickly backed off, apologizing that it was but a case of mistaken identity, much to the other's disappointment.

The second had been much more fleeting, occurring during her short residency as school nurse at Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School. On her way to the nurse's office, the mousy brunette had passed the ever-popular teacher Yumi Aranami, walking alongside her ward Reimeiki Hakubo, both of who looked at her for a moment with almost identical wistful expressions before turning away.

But it was not the look, as much as a snatch of their conversation that had caught Kyouko's attention.

"The mind may forget," the statuesque Yumi Aranami was saying to the silver haired child beside her. "But the heart and body remembers…"

'_Wouldn't it be nice if that were true?' _the amnesiac mused, a soft smile tugging at the edge of her lips as the pair walked around the corner and out of sight. _'I wonder if I will ever remember someone from my past…'_

When she returned to her apartment that night, she went about her usual evening routine of checking her email to see if there were any updates or urgent requests from nursing school. There was nothing, as expected, so finishing that, she had been about to logoff and go to sleep, when she clicked the wrong icon, and had instead launched the program of The World: R2.

The hard drive spun and whirred, and the opening splash of the game popped up on screen, quickly finishing its loading sequence to reveal the title screen.

'_That's odd…did I play this before my accident?' _she wondered. _'Or was this something that Tomoki installed as a prank to make me think I did?'_

She rolled her eyes at that last thought, as the ponytailed, unshaven man of her acquaintance did often like to play practical jokes with her, sometimes referring to her jestingly as a "queen" of one sort or another. Had they dated at some point in the past? Surely not, as the playboy wasn't her type, and besides, he was dating someone else, a purple-haired Colonel Katsuragi affiliated with the UN.

'_There I go wondering about my past again, and questioning what I know, even though it's likely I'll never remember. Anyway, now that I have this program open, I might as well take a look at it—maybe there will be some clues there to who I was.'_

What she accessed first was the forums, where a name and a post leapt out at her from the screen.

The title appeared innocuous enough, as those of most messages were wont to do, at least those that did not contain explicit references to porn, viruses, or other garbled spam. It was mysterious enough, to be sure, but the name of the author was one she recognized from her online meanderings as an enigmatic and influential writer who only wrote of significant topics, particularly those pertaining to the MMORPG called The World.

'_The net poet W.B. Yeats?_ _I wonder what_ _he has to say…_'

Curious as to the message's contents, Kyouko opened it, lips compressing into thin line as her eyes glanced over the lines.

Subject: Requiem of Fate

Sender: W.B. Yeats

_The age of dusk has now passed on  
With a choice made at the end of human will_

_A dark evangel rises as the harbinger of freedom  
Rejecting falsely dreamed utopia for_

_The World of shadowed ones_

_As Queen of the Dark and Phantom Queen  
fought 'gainst evil-shaped ones too massive to compare_

_The Harbinger walked alone unto the end of land  
unyielding shadows and moonlight at his side_

_His only protection memories of a Goddess' love_

_The soul of a dream, a vessel of pathos,  
bearing the weight of shadow and light  
spurning blithe whispers of fate  
for the uncertainty of a cruel angel's thesis_

_Time's spiral goes on, and the world will turn_

_Driven by the will of all those within it  
driven by the will of dreams and mortal memories_

_Towards the uncertain and the yet unknown  
only fragments left of chains of fate  
the epitaph of dusk and dawn_

_Night has fallen, and has passed  
Dawn rises o'er the World, and_

_At last returns the Shadowed One,_

_Who quests for the Twilight Dragon_

_As the master of rumors and memories past_

_Awaits on the path of spider lilies the return of the_

_Once and Future Queen_

Her curiosity piqued at what seemed to be a reference to Arthurian lore, Kyouko glanced at the clock and figured that she still had some time to spare before going to sleep that night. Returning to the forum's main page, she continued to browse, raising an eyebrow as she read over some of the posts, including one that included screenshots of a recent special event on the isle of Hy Brasail.

In-game weddings were rare enough, though this one had been notable as it had involved the former Holy Palace Emperor and not one, but two young women, both of whom she recognized from her work at the local school, and one of which was…

'_The silver-haired girl known in-world as Lycoris…'_

Lycoris. That was a name she recognized, her mind seeming to suggest that a red dress would be more appropriate for her attire. And further, it had a meaning she recognized as well.

'_Poignant memories…as well as spider lilies…could it be…?'_

Why did the girl seem so familiar? Was it because she reminded Kyouko of her son, or was it something else? The answer surely lay within the game…

'_More importantly…do I really want to know?'_

Clicking out of the forum, Kyouko returned to the title screen of 'The World: R2', the cursor of her mouse vacillating between 'Log in' and 'Quit.' She found that she couldn't make a decision, so instead of a conscious choice, she chose randomness. Closing her eyes, the brunette brought her finger randomly down upon one of the keys on the keyboard, opening her eyes only when a chime announced that something had changed.

She had chosen to log in.

'_Might as well see this to the end then…'_

Sitting neglected on the side of her desk was a headset and controller, items that she now plugged into the computer, placing the headset over her head. And as she did so, there was a moment of feedback as the room around her faded away to reveal a strange new city of stone and iron, still bustling though it was yet night.

* * *

**Δ Server, Eternal City Mac Anu**

Evening had come, and the light of the watery moon danced upon the canals and the cobblestones of the streets, bringing a soft illumination to the industrial city. It was a busy place, no matter the time, the place where people came and went between The World and the world of shadowed ones, the gateway to what some might call utopia. But in this city, it was possible to be alone as well, as a certain red-clad Blade Brandier found to be all too true, as no one greeted her, no one found her familiar.

After a time of taking in her surroundings, the young woman had made her way to the central bridge of Mac Anu, the place of many meetings and distant farewells, a bridge that each and every player of The World had walked across at one point or another in their adventures.

Standing there, the Blade Brandier looked down at water, studying the image reflected there. The figure was a noble-looking dark-haired woman clad in formal red Japanese clothing, one that seemed more familiar to her than even her own.

"Kaede…" the name came unbidden to her lips, one she repeated experimentally and found fitting in her mouth. "My character's name is…Kaede."

A soft rustle of fabric sounded behind her, and the now-named Kaede turned to see two figures, looking at her with the same considering expression that Yumi Aranami and Reimeiki Hakubo had back at school.

'_One is almost an exact match with Aranami-sensei, taking the form of a sorceress clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses, dark violet eyes, and a silver infinity symbol at the collar of her dress. And the other…'_

The other was not someone she recognized from the other world, though on looking at him, she felt a powerful sense of recognition. This one, a small, horned boy in white, with golden eyes looking out unblinking from the fringes of his cropped blue-silver hair, reminded her of…

'…_a son. He seems like…the son I lost…'_

With the tangle of emotions welling up inside her breast, Kaede didn't know exactly what to say, though she was surprised as anyone else might be when the Sorceress in Black stepped close to her, tilting her head.

"I've been waiting for you…" the Shadow Warlock murmured with a wistful smile. "I have been waiting for very a long time, in fact. And so has the little Lord Zelkova, who sees you as…"

"A mother," Kaede voiced without prompting, bringing a smile to the boy, who inclined his head towards her with a gentle laugh. "And you are…Yumi Aranami?"

"I am?" prompted the Shadow Warlock, raising one slender eyebrow in a way that reminded Kaede of Edgar Allen Poe's raven. "Perhaps, but what might my name be in this world, where I am a specter of the past?"

Clearly, she was not about to make things easy for the newcomer, much like a trickster out of legend. And if she were a sorceress out of legend, and a specter of the past…the appellation 'Phantom Queen' came to mind again, one of the titles given to the goddess known as…

"Morganna," Kaede said at last, repeating it to see how it tasted in her mouth. The name somehow felt…right. "Your name is…Morganna."

"Yes," to approval of the other, who reached out and took the blademistress' hand, much to the amnesiac's surprise. And yet, it was not so large a shock as she might have thought, as the blademistress looked into the sorceress' eyes questioningly.

"The mind forgets, but the heart remembers," the noblewoman found herself saying, lines that the statuesque sorceress had spoken earlier that day. "Is that right?"

"Rumor has it that this is so," spoke the third member of the group, the little blue-haired boy. It was somehow nostalgic, and Kaede smiled despite herself as Zelkova took her other hand. "Shall we go?"

There was a brief internal struggle, as the blademistress wondered whether or not to accept the invitation. Somehow, she had a feeling that if she said yes, there would be no going back. In the end, it proved impossible to resist both the look of hopefulness on his face--or for that matter, the smirk of expectation in Morganna's eyes, so she answered the only way she could.

"…Okay," she relented, with a weak smile of her own.

The three walked together to the Chaos Gate of the Eternal City. There they paused for a moment, deliberating on a destination, then without ado, vanished with a flurry of golden rings into an uncertain future, filled with possibilities. Whatever else it held, it would surely be…interesting.

'_Welcome to the World, indeed.'_

**FIN**


End file.
